Eight alleged New People's Army (NPA) rebels who have surrendered to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur’’ Abalos Jr. were presented at the Philippine National Police (PNP) National Headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Friday, Jan. 13.
Abalos refused to reveal the identities or the places where the alleged communist rebels operated to protect them as they start their transformation and re-integration process to be productive citizens of the society.
“They are commanding officers, they have been involved in insurgency for a long time but they have gone through some processes,” Abalos said.
“What is important here is that there are government interventions that are ready to be done for those who want to surrender,” he stressed.
Abalos surmised that the former rebels must have felt the government's "sincere" calls for their surrender, hence, they complied.