22 NPA rebels yield 10 firearms in Quezon

CAMP CAPINPIN, Tanay, Rizal: Twenty-two members of the New People’s Army (NPA) Guerilla Front Cesar returned to the folds of the law and surrendered 10 firearms following a successful negotiation with the Army’s 2nd Infantry ( Jungle Fighter) Division and Police Regional Office 4A at General Nakar, Quezon on Wednesday.

The former rebels used to operate in the provinces of Quezon, Laguna and Rizal.

Col. Alex Rillera, commander of 202nd Brigade, said, “The influx of surrenderees could be attributed to the ‘whole- of-nation approach’ strategy the government has adapted aimed to end communist armed conflict.”

Most of the former NPA rebels are now enrolled in the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program, which provides financial and other forms of assistance to help them start a normal life.

In a statement, Brig. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., commander of the 2nd Infantry Division (2ID), expressed his optimism that the “mass surrender signals the eventual and inevitable collapse of insurgency in Rizal and Quezon similar to what happened in Batangas and Laguna provinces.”

Early this year, the Joint Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police Intelligence Coordinating Committee declared GF Honda, the NPA unit that used to operate in Batangas and Cavite, as dismantled.

This was followed by the 2ID’s declarations of Cavite, Marinduque, Romblon and Laguna as insurgency-free areas.