by Jason De Asis | Philippine News Agency
BALER, Aurora – Government troops on Thursday, Jan. 20, recovered war materiel and subversive documents belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Minuli, Carranglan, Nueva Ecija.
Combined elements of the Army’s 91st Infantry “Sinagtala” Battalion (91IB), and 84th Infantry “Victorious” Battalion (84IB) discovered the items following the information given by a civilian and a former member of the dismantled Kilusang Larangang Gerilya-Sierra Madre (KLG-SM) of the NPA.
Those recovered in the area include a printer, 79 rounds of .45-caliber ammunition, two reams of bond paper, ink, 37 communist leaflets, among others.
Lt. Col. Reandrew P. Rubio, commander of 91IB, said the troops gained the complete trust and confidence of the former rebel identified as alias JR/Oscar/Joey, who surrendered to the troops last Monday.
“During the conduct of custodial debriefing, the former rebel voluntarily relayed the information to the government troops,” Rubio said in an interview.
Following his surrender, the rebel also yielded an M14 rifle, a magazine, and nine rounds of ammunition.
Rubio urged the remaining members of the dismantled KLG-SM to also come forward and lay down their arms.
He said it is now the time to embrace peace and the government’s offer of a comfortable life through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
“We welcome anyone who wanted to embrace a new life with peace and will ensure that they will get all the assistance they need through E-CLIP. Let us continue to support peace and development projects to end armed conflict,” Rubio added.
Col. Joseph Norwin Pasamonte, commander of the 703rd Infantry Brigade, lauded the full cooperation of the surrenderer as “it manifests his trust and confidence with the authorities.”
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Andrew D. Costelo, acting commander of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), said the accomplishments resulted in the decisive conduct of focused military operations of the Army coupled with the full cooperation of the former rebels and the communities.
“Malaking bagay ang tiwalang ibinibigay ng ating mga former rebels na nagbalik-loob na sa pamahalaan dahil katuwang na natin sila upang tuluyang masugpo ang terorismo sa ating nasasakupan (The trust being given by the former rebels who returned to the fold of the government is a big thing because they are now our partners in totally defeating terrorism in our areas of jurisdiction. We assure them that we value the pieces of information they disclosed and we will work on it immediately,” Costelo said.
The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
In July last year, the National Democratic Front has also been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Philippines’ Anti-Terrorism Council. (PNA) – bny
