COMMITMENT. Sympathizers of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) from Dingalan, Aurora denounce their support for the terrorist group and sign a commitment of support to the government on Wednesday (Oct. 12, 2023). Lt. Col. Julito Recto Jr., commanding officer of the Philippine Army’s 91st Infantry Battalion, said the villagers realized that they were deceived by the CPP-NPA. (Photo by Jason de Asis)
BALER, Aurora –At least 27 residents here, who had been exploited by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), formally withdrew their support for the communist terrorist group (CTG) on Wednesday.
In an interview on Thursday, Lt. Col. Julito Recto Jr., Philippine Army’s 91st Infantry Battalion commanding officer, said the withdrawal of support by the residents from the remote villages of Ibona and Matawe in Dingalan town was a result of the series of dialogues and symposiums facilitated by the unit.
He said the CPP-NPA supporters formally cut their loyalty to the communist movement through the signing of Executive Order No. 70 manifesting their strong support to the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC).
He said the residents realized that they fell victim to the deceptions of the CPP-NPA.
One of the exploited residents, a certain Sonny, shared how he was convinced to join the terrorist organization.
“The terrorist gave me an Armalite (M16) to protect our farm. They later on convinced me to join them as they claimed that I was already in the order of battle of the Philippine Army. Instead of joining, I refused. I said to my wife that the terrorists were deceiving us. We were awakened by the fact that the NPAs were fooling us,” Sonny said in an interview.
Recto expressed hope that more CPP-NPA sympathizers will withdraw their support to the communist terrorist group that continuously deceives them.
Lt. Col. Enrique G Rafael, 7th Civil Military Operation Battalion commander, urged the villagers to convince others who were still working with the terrorist organization to surrender and pledge allegiance to the government.
“We should stop fighting and stop the anti-government propaganda. We are calling on them to put an end to their violent tactics. Let us support peace towards progress and development,” he said.
Dingalan police chief, Capt. Emilio dela Torre, assured that the police and other concerned agencies would improve the lives of the surrenderers. (PNA)
