TACLOBAN: The Philippine Army is counting on the participation of former rebels for the surrender of the remaining 26 active members of the New People’s Army (NPA) hiding in the mountains of Leyte Island.
Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, commander of the Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade, is focusing on initiatives to reintegrate former rebels into their communities and encouraging remaining NPA combatants to embrace a peaceful life.
Vestuir said former rebels and family members of active NPA combatants have committed to convincing the active rebels to surrender.
‘The program optimizes the local government’s efforts to link and convince the remaining NPA members through the active participation of the rebels’ families to work for the peaceful surrender of their loved ones and take advantage of the benefits through the Enhanced Local Integration Program,’ Vestuir told the Philippine News Agency in a phone interview on Tuesday.
The initiative proved effective in Eastern Samar with the surrender of several members of th
e NPA’s Apoy Platoon.
It can be recalled that upon deployment of the 802nd Infantry Brigade in Samar Island on June 1, 2023, the brigade was able to reduce the manpower of Apoy Platoon from 47 to just 11.
The official said they kicked off the initiative in Leyte through a reunion of 35 former rebels who belonged to the two platoons of the NPA’s Island Committee (IC) Levox in a beach resort in Merida town on Aug. 25.
‘We gathered them to celebrate their reunion as ordinary citizens, reaffirming their commitment to fostering lasting peace on Leyte Island,’ he added.
The NPA’s two platoons in Leyte have been very weak, according to Vestuir, with only 26 remaining members.
Platoon 2, operating in the upland villages of northern Leyte, has only five members left. With 21 fighters, those belonging to Platoon 1 have been hiding in the upland areas in the southern part of Leyte Island.
Vestuir said the NPA’s IC Levox was once the primary NPA unit operating on the islands of Biliran and Leyte.
Earlier this year
, focused military operations by the Army’s 93rd Infantry Battalion and 14th Infantry Battalion resulted in the deaths of Rolando Caballera (alias Chow) and Crispolo Agunos Jr. (alias Brix).
The two notorious NPA leaders in Leyte Island died in a clash with soldiers in the mountains of Albuera town on Feb. 10.
‘These sustained operations led to the gradual abandonment of the armed struggle by other IC Levox members, leaving only a few remnants of the NPA unit,’ Vestuir added.
The military emphasized that the attainment of lasting peace in Leyte will only be achieved once the remaining NPA members abandon their armed struggle.h
Source: Philippines News Agency