CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac – The Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) on Sunday, September 5, said the end is in sight for communist insurgency in Northern and Central Luzon following the continuous surrender of rebels.
For the first five days of this month alone, seven members of the New People’s Army (NPA) returned to the fold of the law and yielded eight firearms.
There were also 595 former rebels who surrendered from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 this year and turned over 235 firearms.
“It’s only a matter of time before the NPA will be totally eradicated in this part of the country,” Lt. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., Nolcom commander, said in a statement.
Burgos cited the growing support of communities in the government’s fight against communist terrorists as a contributing factor in the continuous surrender.
Another key element is the implementation of several community development projects under the Barangay Development Program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 70 in December 2018, creating the NTF-ELCAC that employs a whole-of-nation approach to end communism and institute peace-building initiatives.
“The growing support of the communities to the government’s fight against the communist terrorist is a big factor that significantly contributed to our efforts in ending the local communist armed conflict in Northern and Central Luzon. They help us send our message of hope while encouraging their families, friends, and loved ones who have been deceived by the terrorist group to lay down their arms and abandon their armed struggle,” he said.