TACLOBAN CITY – Four minors who confessed to being members of the Underground Mass Organization (UGMO) of the Kabataang Makabayan have withdrawn their support to the group affiliated with the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Jiwaran, Jipapad, Eastern Samar.
The minors aged 15 to 17, whose membership in the group would have been the final step to becoming a full-pledge communist guerrilla, was convinced by the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) team based in the barangay to disavow them Sunday, July 10.
All four minors, including females, are grade school students in their municipality.
They are currently under the supervision and monitoring of the RCSP team in Jipapad pending further intervention.
The Police Regional Office-8 (Eastern Visayas) attributed their accomplishment to the Philippine National Police campaign of regaining the trust, confidence, and support of those who were indoctrinated by the Communist Terrorist Groups (CTGs) in the far-flung barangays in the municipality of Jipapad.
Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, PRO-8 director, commended the relentless efforts of the RCSP teams deployed in the far-flung areas of Eastern Visayas in winning back the hearts of communities swayed by the wrong ideologies of the CTG.
"Our PNP personnel are risking their lives in reaching out to NPA-infested areas to guide and educate the populace. With this, and some of the accomplishment reports from RCSP, I can say that we are winning against insurgency,” Banac said.
The RCSP is part of the government’s whole-of-nation approach to attaining inclusive and sustainable peace.