More former rebels, members of their families, and friends have been joining the government’s anti-insurgency drive by disclosing the locations of firearms buried by the New People’s Army (NPA), the Philippine Army said Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Perfecto Peñaredondo, acting commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said there has been recent success in their campaign to fight insurgents with the information provided by NPA members and allies on the location of arms caches.
"This is a clear indication that the families of the NPA members and the community appreciate the efforts of the government and have decided to support the fight of ending the local communist armed conflict," Peñaredondo said in a statement.
On Oct. 5, a family member of alias ‘Agunos’, an NPA rebel killed in an armed encounter in February, revealed the locations of an arms cache containing three firearms in the upland Rizal village in Kananga, Leyte.
Troops from the 93rd Infantry Battalion under the 802nd Infantry Brigade recovered an M16 assault rifle, caliber.30 M1 garand, KG-9 pistol, five magazines, and 41 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition allegedly owned by the recently dismantled platoon 2 of the island committee Levox under the NPA Eastern Visayas regional party committee.
On Oct. 3, acting on a tip-off from a former rebel, soldiers facilitated the surrender of two active NPA remnants and recovered a significant cache of weapons and ammunition in Eastern Samar.
Soldiers from the Army’s 78th Infantry Battalion received information from alias ‘Apolonio’, a former Yunit Militia member of the NPA who identified two active NPA members hiding in Abejao village in Salcedo, Eastern Samar.
‘Apolonio’ disclosed the location of Lilio Betasolo Jacobe, alias Baoy, vice squad leader of NPA’s Apoy Platoon Squad 2, and Enorio Afable Aquilla, alias Rokles, a member of the same squad. Both rebels surrendered in Abejao village in Salcedo town.
These individuals were involved in a clash with government forces on July 25 this year, in Osmeña village, General MacArthur town in Eastern Samar, where their leader, Joel Guarino, alias ‘Duran’, was killed.
Following their surrender, they revealed the locations of hidden arms caches in the villages of Osmeña and Laurel in the same town.
The operation resulted in the recovery of two M16 rifles, two M14 rifles, one M1903 caliber .30 Springfield rifle, and one AK-47 rifle.
Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, commander of the Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade, said the success of this operation is credited to their efforts in the conduct of comprehensive debriefings with former rebels and implementing the Friends Rescued Engagement through Their Families program.
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 benefits through the Enhanced Local Integration Program. (PNA)
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