BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — More supporters and sympathizers of the New People’s Army in the hinterlands of central Negros have renounced their support to the rebel movement, and pledged to support the government instead.
Lieutenant Colonel Egberto Dacoscos, 62nd Infantry Battalion commander, said the 60 supporters of the CPP-NPA were residents of Barangays Bi-ao and Santol in Binalbagan town, Negros Occidental.
Last week, 113 rebel supporters from Barangays Mahalang and Buenavista in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, also took their oath of allegiance to the government.
Dacoscos said the rebel supporters vowed to give loyalty to the government and abandon the wrong ideology they embraced with.
They also pledged to withdraw their support to the CPP-NPA terrorist organization, saying that it only promoted a bloody revolution for almost 50 years now, and only contributed despair, loss, and sorrow to the community.
Dacoscos lauded the courage of “those who stood up against the terrorist organization and their criminal activities.”
He added that the shift of support by these rebel sympathizers was a result of the close coordination among the security sector, government agencies, local government units, and the public, as well as the efforts in the localized peace talks with the CPP-NPA.
Colonel Alberto Desoyo, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, in a statement said that he is grateful for the decision of the people to stop supporting the NPA.
“The people are starting to realize the true nature and objective of the terrorist organization, which is only to sow terror and hinder progress,” Desoyo said, as he also urged parents to educate their children to avoid the recruitment activities of the insurgents.
Last month, 18 mass-base supporters of the CPP-NPA from Barangay Carabalan in Himamaylan City also abandoned the rebel movement and then took an oath of allegiance to the government.