11 former rebels presented in MP

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Eleven former rebels were presented on Jan. 15 at the Camp Montes here.
Provincial Administrator Winston Calde presented the returnees, including two women, to the members of the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (Elcac).
The former rebels also turned over various firearms and assorted improvised explosive devices to Calde, 54th Infantry Battalion Commander Lt/Col. Narciso Nabulneg Jr., and Mountain Province Provincial Police Office Director Col. Clarence Casillo.
The surrenderees belonged to the Kilusang Larangang Guerilla Marco (KLG-Marco), Ilocos Cordillera Regional Committee (ICRC) operating in the Cordillera and boundaries of the Ilocos region.
Calde thanked the former rebels for embracing peace and congratulated the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for their efforts in convincing the rebels to surrender.
Casillo said their surrender signals a better opportunity for the province and its people for development, which has been hindered by insurgency problems.
While the province is generally peaceful, Casillo said insurgency has caused many deaths fellow Cordillerans due to the encounters between rebel forces and government forces.
“This should now stop,” he said.
In Tinoc, Ifugao, Militia ng Bayan “Lando” submitted to the Tinoc Municipal Police Station and admitted to being a supporter of the Nona Del Rosario Command.
Lando allowed his house to be used by the New Peoples’ Army as meeting place and temporary storage of food, firearms, ammunitions, and other logistical equipment.
“He decided to surrender to clear his name and live a normal life free from disturbance,” the report stated.
His surrender is the result of the intensified and continuous conduct of information campaign on anti-terrorism; and the whole of nation approach to end local communist armed conflict by various government and other partners in the community.
“During our information drive, we also include the benefits of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program to encourage members of NPA and Militia ng Bayan to surrender,” the Tinoc MPS said in its report.
Police lauded Lando on his decision and thanked the people who helped in making this possible. – Redjie Melvic M. Cawis and Marcelo B. Lihgawon