END OF SUPPORT. Flags of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) are burned during the mass surrender of 150 members and supporters of the rebel movement in Carmen, Agusan del Norte, on Thursday (Aug. 20, 2020). Similar mass surrender ceremonies were also held in the provinces of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur recently. (Photo courtesy of 23IB)
BUTUAN CITY – The number of areas considered as "strongholds" of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in the Caraga Region continues to plunge due to the surrender of the hundreds of its members and supporters, an Army official said.
Lt. Col. Julius Cesar C. Paulo, commander of the Army's 23rd Infantry Battalion, cited the mass surrender of NPA supporters from August 19 to 20 this year in the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Sur, which are under the area of operations (AORs) of the 23IB, 26IB, and 36IB.
“Our brothers and sisters who are already exasperated and riled while languishing from miserable lives inside the CNT (Communist NPA Terrorist) movement deserve to live peacefully. The government is giving them the chance to experience new lives with their families,” Paulo said in a statement Friday (Aug. 21).
Paulo said NPA combatants have realized "the wrong path they chose while suffering from the hardships they encounter inside the movement.
The NPA's mass supporters, he added, have grown tired of the presence of the communist rebels in their communities.
On Thursday, Paulo was joined by local and regional officials in welcoming 150 NPA members and mass supporters who pledged allegiance to the government in a ceremony held in Sitio Macopa, Barangay Poblacion, Carmen town.
Of the 150 who surrendered, 30 were members of the NPA's Militia ng Bayan (MB), while 120 were mass supporters of the movement residing in barangays Poblacion and Rojales, Carmen town.
The former NPA supporters, he said, were part of the underground affiliates of the NPA, particularly the Sangay ng Partido sa Lokalidad, Yunit Milisyang Bayan, Pambansang Katipunan ng Magbubukid sa Pilipinas, Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan, and Kabataang Makabayan.
In a separate activity on Thursday, 24 NPA members and supporters also pledged their allegiance to the government in a ceremony spearheaded by the Army's 26th Infantry Battalion in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur.
On Wednesday (August 19), 17 NPA fighters and supporters also returned to the fold of the law in a ceremony led by the 36IB in the town of Madrid, Surigao del Sur.
“The CNT movement in Agusan del Norte is watering down as their mass base continues to weaken due to the series of surrenders of the regular members and supporters. People now realize the evils that the communist movement brought to their lives and communities for years,” Paulo said.
He added that residents in far-flung villages "have now become conscious of what they actually gained" after years of supporting the communist rebel movement.
“They got nothing but miseries in life, hardships and underdevelopment in their communities. The only option left, is for these mass supporters to turn their backs from the ideology that nailed their lives down to extreme poverty and return to the government that espouses the true essence of democracy that facilitates development initiatives and works for genuine peace,” Paulo said.
He also urged the remaining NPA rebels in Agusan provinces to lay down their arms and avail of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP) and help the government achieve peace.
“If we are united, we can be a huge force to bring big changes in our communities, changes that will uplift us economically, politically and socially, so that in the future, our children and the next generation will have something to reap, not only on the development initiatives that we planted together but also dignity and pride,” Paulo said. (PNA)
