11 NPA rebels surrender in Sorsogon

By Mar S. Arguelles

ELEVEN New People Army (NPA) rebels surrendered on Friday, Mar. 5 to military officials of the Philippine 902nd Army Brigade camp in Sorsogon.

A military report said the surrenderees brought the total to 39 communist rebels who already returned to the folds of the law in the province during the first quarter of this year.

According to Col. Jaime Abawag, commanding of the 902nd Army Brigade based in Castilla, Sorsogon, the surrenderees turned over two Garand rifles and a bandolier of ammunitions.

Abawag said a total of 29 high-powered firearms were already surrendered by the rebels in the province for the same period.

The new surrenderees, like those who preceded them, will undergo further validation and will be enrolled to the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) afterwards, Abawag said.

MGen. Henry Robinson, Jr., commander of the Joint Task Force Bicolandia (JTFB) thanked and congratulated the former rebels for responding to the persistent call of the government to abandon the communist movement’s hopeless cause.

“Since the implementation of Executive Order No. 70 or the Whole-of-Nation approach, we learned that insurgency is not just a military problem. With all the government agencies rallying to bring the basic goods and services to the people, we are able to identify the underlying problems in our society and find practical solutions.

“Wala ng nai-exploit na issues ang mga rebelde at kung mayroon man, alam na ng mga tao na may gobyernong gagawa ng paraan upang masolusyonan ang mga problemang ‘yan. Sa muli, maraming salamat at congratulations sa mga kapatid nating ito na dating miyembro ng CTG sa pagpili nilang mabuhay ng mapayapa sa piling ng kanilang pamilya at sa pagbalik-loob sa pamahalaan upang samahan tayong wakasan ang insurhensya sa ating bansa,” Robinson said.