The Leonardo Panaligan Command (LPC) dismissed reports that 16 of its members surrendered to the Guihulngan Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict.
The group said it is fake news.
In a statement, the LPC claimed that the 303rd Infantry Brigade presented “recycled fake surrenderees” from Guihulngan City poblacion on Sept. 20.
Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd IB commander, earlier said that 16 rebels, including a platoon leader, a medical officer, and a political officer, are all affiliated with the LPC, also known as the Central Negros (Front 1).
Pasaporte said the influx of surrenderees manifested the communist rebels’ “rotten ideology that even their ordinary members perceived its lies and deceptions”.
He congratulated those who left the armed struggle for making the right decision in returning to the folds of the law, and for grabbing the opportunity of the Enhanced Local Integration Program of the government.
“We assure the security of the remaining NPA members, who want to lay down their arms and embrace the path of peace, to reunite with their families, and start a new and brighter future without fear and intimidation,” Pasaporte said./GB
