The
Armed Forces of the Philippines, the branch of the Philippine Army is making
giant strides towards peace in the provinces of Agusan and Surigao.
The
Community Support Programs in placed with an intensified security operations
against the communists have forced over 300 former Communist Party of the
Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) terrorist to abandon their hideouts
in the mountains and immediately took the opportunity to grab the hand of peace
offered by the government.
In
Agusan alone, heavily armed CNT-two commanding officers, one political guide,
one medic, one team leader and one squad member, have finally seen the light
and backed out from the dead ideology this organization is fighting for.
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| (photo credit to owner) |
They
are members of the Guerilla Front 3 of the Southern Mindanao Regional
Committee, the terror unit which has been mainly responsible for all atrocities
in the area such as arsons, murders and extortions.
The
rebels brought with them assorted
firearms, ammunition and explosives including an AK47 rifle, an M16A1 rifle,
two Cal. 45 pistol, two Cal. 38 pistol, two hand grenades, two improvised pipe
bombs, five blasting caps, five meters detonating cord, four magazines of AK47
with 97 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, five short steel magazines of M16A1 with
126 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and two bandoliers.
“We just want to go back to our families and live a normal and
peaceful life. Life has not been easy for us in the mountains but it was more
difficult for the families that we have left behind. They suffer more than we
do because we cannot provide for them,” one of the rebel leader said.
“The firearms and weapons that we brought down with us has
become our tool for aggression and oppression against our very own neighbors
and we just do not want to be part of the senseless violence anymore”, he added.
“Demoralization among NPA members is at an all-time high due
to the influx of surrenderers. The CPP-NPA has no one to blame but itself.
People have already gotten weary of senseless violence,” Brig. Gen. Andres
Centino, the Commander of the 401st Brigade, said.
Over 300 rebels have returned to government fold
The 4th Infantry
Division show that since January of this year, a total of 352 NPAs have already
returned to the government side, and are now back with normal lives and with their
respective families. Earlier this week, nine former rebels with nine assorted
firearms also surrendered to the 26th Infantry Battalion.
For Brig. Gen.
Franco Nemesio M. Gacal, Commander of 4th Infantry Divisionof the Philippine
Army, the latest surrender was proof that “we can gradually achieve peace
without resorting to violence and bloodshed.”
“Their surrender is
another milestone in our quest for a just and long-lasting peace. Let us all
wage a peaceful war together- one that values lives above anything else. We can
rise amidst chaos and conflict without killing each other,” Gacal said.
Gacal assured all
insurgents still waging a futile war that they will be treated with dignity and
care should they choose to go back to the folds of the law.
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Report from Manila Bulletin
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