Rebels urged to surrender, live peacefully

PAGADIAN CITY – The Philippine Army has urged communist rebels to abandon their armed struggle and return to the fold of law and live peacefully with their families.

Major General Roseller Murillo, commander of the Joint Task Force ZAMPELAN, renewed his appeal to the members of the New People’s Army following a recent clash that killed a senior rebel leader, Edwin Lapinig, in Zamboanga del Norte’s Sindangan town.

Lapinig was killed in firefight with police commandos and soldiers who were trying to arrest him. He opened fire on security forces that left 2 soldiers wounded.

Murillo said operations still continue in the Zamboanga Peninsula and nearby provinces where communist rebels are actively operating.

“We will continue our security operations in order to ensure the safety and well-being of the civilians,” he said and at the same time urged families and relatives of rebels to convince communist fighters to abandon their armed struggle and return to the fold of the law and avail of the government’s amnesty program.

Major Ronald Suscano, a spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division, said security forces tracked down Lapinig’s hideout following a long intelligence operation in the province.

The rebel leader, who had a string of criminal cases, was also tagged as behind the killing of 2 soldiers and the disarming of policemen in Don Victoriano Chiongbian town in the neighboring province of Misamis Occidental, and the series of arson attacks on construction sites in Zamboanga Peninsula.

The rebels have been fighting for many decades now for the establishment of a separate Maoist state in the country.