• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Twenty-six New People’s Army (NPA) rebels have surrendered to the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Negros and Panay as of the third week of July this year.
This came after three more self- confessed NPA combatants yielded to the 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) on July 21, as the amnesty applications of their 53 comrades are being processed by the Local Amnesty Board for their reintegration to mainstream society.
The three, identified only through their aliases “Adan”, “Itom”, and “Jeffrey”, were all members of the Sentro De Grabidad Platoon of the dismantled Northern Negros Front (NNF).
Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, public affairs chief of the 3rd Infantry Division (ID), recalled that the NNF remnants suffered heavy losses in the series of encounters with 79IB troops in Barangay Pinapagusan, Escalante City earlier this year.
In a series of gunbattles from Feb. 21 to 27, three communist rebels died and the soldiers recovered 16 high-powered firearms.
Of the 26 who surrendered, 21 have already availed of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) benefits facilitated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government while the assistance for other former rebels is being processed.
In a statement, Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, commander of 3ID, commended the 79IB and the PNP for their collaborative effort, which resulted in the surrender of the three rebel remnants. | GB
