154 NPAs surrender in Agusan del Sur

LORETO, Agusan del Sur – The government’s peace and development initiatives in Southern Philippines claimed a strategic victory recently following the surrender of 154 heavily armed New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

The insurgents surrendered to the government yesterday and yielded 152 automatic rifles such as M16, M14, Garand and Carbine rifles, shotguns and several assorted hand guns, including a huge cache of live ammunitions.

The rebels surrendered to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Teresita Quintos Deles, Agusan del Sur Governor Adolph Edward G. Plaza, Loreto town Mayor Dario E. Otaza and top area commanders of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) Eastern Mindanao Command.

“These rebel returnees used to operate in the borders of Agusan del Sur and Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur and Compostela Valley,” said Otaza.

They were regular members of the guerrilla-Front Committees 34, 88, 89 and Pulang Bagani Command 2 (PBY 2) of the CPP-NPA Southern Mindanao Regional Committee and North-Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC), the mayor said.

“More of my former comrades-inarms are coming,” stressed Otaza, who is, himself, a former regular NPA fighter before he entered politics.

The rebel surrenderees initially received an initial pesos each for immediate cash assistance from the LGU Loreto and will be extended more cash support in exchange for the firearms they surrendered. They will also be recipients of livelihood assistance from the government and from the OPAPP.

Since early 2014, more than 400 rebels in the region’s tri-boundaries have already surrendered to the government and are now living peaceful and productive lives in their respective village communities, Otaza said.

The surrender also coincided with the two-day Peace Caravan that started on Thursday where all line agencies of the government delivered their respective programs to nine far-flung village communities here, where more than 3,000 highlands village community folks availed of various government programs.

The conduct of the two-day Peace Caravan provided a venue for a converged delivery of services by the different participating government agencies and other private stakeholders and also serves as a platform for information campaign to present the menu of government programs/projects/services.