238 NPAs surrender in Davao

MANILA, Philippines — The strength of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the Davao region has diminished with the surrender of at least 238 communist guerrillas recently. 

Col. Erwin Bernard Neri, commander of the 1001st Infantry Brigade, escorted the surrenderees to Camp Aguinaldo ahead of their dinner with President Duterte last night.

Neri said 60 of the surrenderees are regular NPA rebels while 152 are members of the so-called Militia ng Bayan. The rebels yielded 104 firearms of various calibers.

Certain areas in Compostela Valley, Agusan del Sur and Agusan del Norte are the focus of anti-insurgency operations in Mindanao. The military said there is also a strong presence of NPA rebels in Northern Mindanao, Davao del Sur and Davao del Norte.

In Masbate, seven NPA rebels surrendered last Monday and turned over a Garand and two M16 rifles, a caliber .38 revolver and a caliber .45 pistol.

Maj. Gen. Jesus Manangquil, 9th Infantry Division commander, said the rebels could avail themselves of livelihood and financial assistance under the Comprehensive Local Integration Program. – Celso Amo