SULTAN KUDARAT – The amnesty program of the Duterte administration is ongoing and hundreds of the country’s rebels have availed of the continuing program.
In Sultan Kudarat, at least 10 members of the New People’s Army, who have long been fighting the government, have availed of the amnesty program. The rebels voluntarily surrendered to government authorities in Lebak, this province, according to the local PNP here.
Major Rodney Binoya, police chief of Lebak, said the rebels who surrendered were members of the Far South Mindanao Region (FSMR) Cherry Mobile Platoon.
“We are going nowhere, our leaders provided us with lip service, we were duped, we are tired of war,” Ka Goy, one of the guerrillas who yielded in Barangay Tibpuan on Monday afternoon said.
The army official said the surrenderers included teachers of schools in the mountains under the influence of NPA.
It was learned that ex-rebels have received financial assistance from the government under the End Local Communist Armed Conflict program in exchange for the firearms they handed over to the police.
“The surrenderers are still undergoing debriefing at the Lebak municipal police station,” he said. – with PNA
