City of Mati, Davao Oriental — The Communist New People’s Army rebels who seized food packs being distributed by the local government to poor families in the town of Baganga in Davao Oriental have recently surrendered and are now set to get aid from the government.
Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang says at least nine NPA rebels have surrendered to the government following a series of clashes between government troops and the NPA.
Governor Dayanghirang says that in the coming days, the provincial government of Davao Oriental is set to give P7,000 each to nine NPA rebels who recently surrendered to government troops. Aside from the nine surrenderees, 31 other former rebels who surrendered within the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 will also get the same financial aid from the provincial government.
The amount serves as our “immediate assistance to show to the rebels that we are sincere in our campaign to achieve our goals of peace. I hope many more rebels will follow to surrender,” says Governor Dayanghirang, adding that these former rebels are set get more benefits through the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
The Governor has called on the surrendering rebels to ask their comrades in their mountain lairs to go back to the fold of law and for the rebels “to stop spreading fear and perpetrating atrocities against the hapless innocent civilians who are struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Series of Clashes
The clashes first erupted on April 11 in the villages of Mahan-ub and Campawan in the town of Baganga and eventually it spilled over to the adjacent municipality of Cateel.
Capt. Maximo Trinidad Jr., civil-military operations officer of the Philippine Army’s 701st Brigade based in the City of Mati, says the rebels “seized the food packs in the 13 sub-villages” in the town of Baganga on April 14. These food packs, which is composed of rice and canned goods, are part of the local government’s relief efforts to help the poor families severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Per the statement of the villagers, the rebels also wanted to seize the cash assistance being given by the government to poor families through the Social Amelioration Program,” says Capt. Trinidad.
Alerted by residents living in the hinterland villages of Baganga and Cateel towns, Army troopers had immediately pursued the “robbing” rebels which resulted in five encounters that left two rebels dead, according to the Army here.
Brig. Gen. Jose Eriel Niembra, Commander of the Philippine Army’s 701st Brigade which covers the provinces of Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro, and the Agusan and Surigao provinces, says the rebels are resorting to seizing food packs being given by the government to poor families “because of severe hunger. That is why we are closely collaborating with the local governments and the DSWD, especially in the distribution of cash assistance for the poor families as the rebels are also aiming to seize them. We have to extend security to the DSWD personnel in the distribution of this cash assistance to the poor families.”
After a series of heavy encounters in the towns of Baganga and Cateel, at least nine rebels have surrendered to government troopers, says Governor Nelson Dayanghirang. The surrendering rebels have first sought the assistance of village officials who facilitated their surrender to government troops.
On April 25, seven rebels surrendered in the town of Cateel, and on the following day, three more rebels followed suit in the nearby Baganga town. The surrendering rebels were brought by village officials to the commanding officer of the Philippine Army’s 67th Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. Louie Dema-ala.
Capt. Trinidad says of the nine surrenderees, only one had surrendered with a firearm, a Garand rifle. On Wednesday, the body of one of the two slain NPA rebels was buried by his immediate family in the town of Loreto in the province of Agusan. “Most of the rebels here in Davao Oriental are Mandaya natives. They are being manipulated by the rebel group who exploit their extreme poverty as they live in geographically isolated and depressed areas,” says Capt. Trinidad. “The 67th IB also hosted the birthday parties for two of the surrendering rebels right inside of the military camp,” Trinidad adds.
The Government’s Stand
Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang has condemned the “atrocities being committed by the Communist rebels to innocent civilians at a time when everyone is living in fear and insecurity because of Covid-19 pandemic. Please stop terrorizing our people. Let us help each other instead for we are all Filipinos. No reason to kill each other.”
The Governor, however, has hailed the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to scrap the peace negotiation with the rebel group. “The recent attacks by the rebels here is proof enough that they are not serious in forging a peaceful solution to this insurgency that never know when to stop. I applaud and appreciate the decision of President Duterte not to continue the peace talk with the NPA rebels,” says Governor Dayanghirang.
Hundreds of the Communist New People’s Army rebels in the province, including their civilian supporters, were enticed to leave the armed struggle and surrendered to the government in exchange for a huge financial assistance and a host of other benefits, among them free housing, education and livelihood programs. The NPA surrenderers in the province are being temporarily accommodated in a halfway house called “Happy Home,” a provincial government-run facility that helps rebels in transition to civilian life.
Governor Dayanghirang has welcomed the mass surrender of the NPA rebels and its civilian supporters, saying “the best way to achieve lasting and meaningful peace is to have the very people who spent their lives fighting the government finally lay down their arms and embrace the opportunity to live more meaningful lives as productive citizens. The ideology that stoked the rebel movement has led to the impoverishment rather than development, further depriving those who were enticed to join the insurgency the promise of a good life. The ideology that promised a government for the people, equality and justice, only promoted extortion and harassment. Because of this, we saw an increase in the number of rebels who returned to the fold of the law. The government has implemented programs that extended social assistance to surrendering rebels such as housing and livelihood to support local peace efforts. The government has integrated government agency efforts to provide social interventions to the Communist surrenderers through intensified linkaging of the Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP) of the DILG, the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) of the OPAPP, and other programs of different government agencies for former rebels under the Enhanced CLIP. The government is ensuring that the former rebels are provided safety and security guarantees, support for healing and reconciliation, legal assistance for those with pending criminal cases, and loan and market access for enterprising former rebels. Under the E-CLIP, the DILG has released livelihood, immediate assistance, and firearm remuneration to former rebels. The National Housing Authority has released the Certificates of Entitlement to former rebels, while the TESDA has provided skills training and DOLE, through its Integrated Livelihood Program, has provided cash assistance for business starter kits to former rebels in Davao Oriental.” By Ferdinand Zuasola/Photos Courtesy of 67th Infantry Battalion.
