DAVAO CITY – The Philippine Army (PA) has continued to receive members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and their mass supporters who decided to abandon the communist struggle.
A new group of NPA supporters known to locals as “masa” has pledged allegiance to the government after surrendering to the soldiers of 28th Infantry battalion under 701st Infantry brigade after a grand pulong-pulong in Barangay Tubaon, Tarragona, Davao Oriental.
Capt. Andrew Linao, civil-military operations (CMO) officer of Army’s 701st Infantry Brigade based in Mati city, said the grand pulong pulong in Barangay Tubaon had opened the surrenderers minds and decided to surrender.
Linao said 59 mass supporters abandoned the communist struggle.
Last year, there were about 700 NPA members who surrendered to the government, were presented to President Rodrigo Duterte at the Eastern Mindanao Command in Panacan last December. High-powered firearms were also surrendered to the military.
Linao said the new group of surrenderers will undergo briefing and psychological interventions. But the military is expecting more because there were names mentioned during the pulong-pulong who wanted to surrendered.
“We advise them to proceed to the municipality of Tarragona and surrender to clear their names,” he added.
The mass surrender was a joint effort of the soldiers of 28th IB and the local government in the area to help those NPA regular members and supporters to lead normal and peaceful life.
“So basically the people see that the local government unit and us (the soldiers) help each other to convince them,” he added. But Linao clarified that supporters cannot avail of the government’s Comprehensive Local Integrated Program (CLIP) but they will undergo peace building seminar for as another government intervention.
Last year, the 28th IB scored with the arrest of the regular members of the NPA as an outcome of the military’s good relations with the community.
The strength of the community through the AFP community support program in Davao Oriental prevented the NPA to conduct atrocities and endanger the lives of the people in the communities. (Rhoda Grace Saron/PNA)
