MATI CITY — FIVE members of the Communist Group New People’s Army (NPA), who has been lying low from the group and the government for a few years, have surrendered to the provincial government.
Ednar Dayangahirang, the vide-chair of Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) welcomed the surrenderees as he formally received them at the Provincial Capitol earlier this afternoon.
The provincial government of Davao Oriental ina statement claimed, the former rebels were operating under the Front 18 of the NPA covering the areas of Banaybanay, Davao Oriental.
Three of them were platoon commanders and team leaders, one was a former Secretary, while the other was a regular member.
Upon yielding to the government, the former NPA members hope to clear their names and start over with their lives in peace and without fear. The provincial government is set to endorse these surrenderees to the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) for them to benefit from the scores of programs and services the government has been offering former rebels.
More members of the NPA and members of the Underground Mass Organizations are expected to surrender in the coming days.
The series of surrenders of the members of the Communist-Terrorist group has been attributed to the government’s intensified efforts on peace and development, particularly the localized implementation of President Duterte’s Executive Order 70 or Whole-of-Nation Approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.-PR
