LEAVING THE NPA. Former rebels join a rally in Ormoc City on Monday (April 24, 2023), denouncing the New People's Army (NPA). A hundred former members and staunch supporters of the NPA have formally surrendered to the local task force to end local communist armed conflict in Ormoc City after years of engaging in armed struggle. (PNA photo courtesy of Philippine Army)
TACLOBAN CITY – A total of 100 former members and staunch supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA) formally surrendered to the local task force to end local communist armed conflict (ELCAC) in Ormoc City after years of engagement in the armed struggle.
Commander of the Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade, Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, said in a phone interview Tuesday that the former rebels, who have lain low since last year, took an oath of allegiance to the Philippine government.
The formal surrender was held during the founding assembly of the Ormoc Integrated Peace and Development Workers Federation (OIPDWF) at the Ormoc City Superdome on Monday, witnessed by members of the regional and city ELCAC.
Of the 100 surrenderers, nine were former NPA combatants, 13 were members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), 21 used to be members of the Milisya ng Bayan, 53 were affiliated with the NPA’s underground mass organizations, and four were mass supporters.
These former rebels are residents of remote Liberty and Gaas villages in Ormoc City.
“They joined the peace and indignation rally to express their sentiments and their condemnation of the communist terrorist group. During the rally, the members of OIPDWF showed their banners, expressing their desire to end terrorism, their call for the attainment of peace, and they also burned the rebels’ flags,” Vestuir said.
The activity was part of the Ormoc City task force ELCAC’s mission to secure communities and prevent NPA attempts to recover the villages they previously influenced.
“Our appeal to NPA remnants in Leyte (is) to surrender because the people are no longer supporting them. Their former comrades and mass base already organized themselves as peacebuilders, availing (of) government assistance, protect their communities, and uplift their living conditions,” Vestuir added.
Their formal surrender came a month after 121 former NPA members and their supporters formally declared their withdrawal of support from the rebel group, also in Ormoc City. (PNA)
