BY CRIS DIAZ
CAMP ALAGAR, Cagayan de Oro City: Fourteen unarmed supporters of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon surrendered voluntarily to the regional police command here Friday.
Brig. Gen. Benjamin C. Acorda, Jr., the regional police director in Northern Mindanao, welcomed the surrenderers in a simple ceremony in Camp Alagar along with regional social welfare officials and the intelligence community.
In his short remarks, Acorda assured the surrenderers of government support through various livelihood programs that the government is extending to rebel returnees.
Acorda said that the government would provide assistance to make sure that rebels and supporters who return to the mainstream society would live a peaceful and productive lives.
In response, one of the woman surrenderers whose identity was withheld, vowed to support the government to eradicate the insurgency problem in their area.
She said that they belonged to a leftist group of farmers and indigenous people responsible for recruitment and conducting anti-government rallies in Malaybalay City.
“My nephew died fighting the government until we realized that the communists had deceived us into believing a useless advocacy, ” she said.
The regional National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) has taken custody of the surrenderers for custodial debriefing and processing of various livelihood programs. -0-
Brig. Gen. Benjamin C. Acorda, Jr., Police Regional Director of Northern Mindanao, distributes food pack to 14 individuals (photo below) who claimed to be supporters of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon surrender voluntarily to the police regional command in Camp Alagar, Cagayan de Oro City on Friday, July 15, 2022.
