Camp Evangelista, Patag, Cagaya de Oro City, December 26, 2020. As the Communist Party of the Philippines celebrates its 52nd Founding Anniversary on December 26, 2020, nine (9) rebels from the notorious guerilla units in Bukidnon did not celebrate but instead surrendered to the 1st Special Forces Battalion under the 403rd Infantry Brigade, 4th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army. The rebels reached their breaking point and finally realized how cruel the CPP-NPA that they were only used and exploited by their selfish communist leaders. An eye opener of the rebels that the meaningless guerilla fighting and deceptive communist recruitment in the mountainous communities of Bukidnon only brought more violence, intimidation and socio-economic despair to the Lumads and to the people in general. The rebels felt that the meaningless guerrilla fighting and deceptive communist recruitment in the mountainous communities of Bukidnon have only brought intimidation, violence, and socio-economic despair to the people.
@Lee, Political Instructor and @Langlang, Medical Officer, couple who both served as communist mass organizers and guerrilla fighters under the Guerrilla Front 68 in Bukidnon, shared how they were manipulated by the communist underground movement and their hardships and frustations in waging the terroristic armed struggle of the New Peoples Army. Along with their equally exploited comrades in the communist underground armed movement, they were haunted by their unbearable physical and psychological exhaustion, extreme emotional depression, and rampant financial abuse which eventually made them decide to abandon the communist armed struggle and go back to the mainstream society and to the folds of the true and legitimate government of the Philippines.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL VERCISIO G. SAN JOSE JR. INF (GSC) PA, Battalion Commander of the 1st Special Forces Battalion said that “the peace, development, and security operations of the Philippine Army and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are effective in bringing the national and local government closer to the people even in the most isolated and disadvantageous communities. We assist the civil instrumentalities of the government in their main role of resolving the root causes of insurgency where the communist armed group thrive in their deceptive recruitment and exploitation of the local populace. Social progress and economic development are now tangible in the countryside because of the active involvement of the local government units and agencies and this could have happened partly with the stable security conditions attributed to our military operations. The convergence of national and local government units and agencies, and the active support of the military and police, paved the way for the peaceful surrender of communist rebels in Bukidnon and in all other parts of the country. But for those communist rebels who remain entangled in their twisted violent ideology and terroristic ways, to those who prefer not to heed the government’s call for peaceful surrender, the 1st Special Forces Battalion will be relentless in its operations and we will hunt down the enemy until the last communist terrorist element is prevented from waging violence and intimidation to our peace-loving people.”
In his remarks, BRIGADIER GENERAL FERDINAND T. BARANDON PA, Commander, 403rd Infantry Brigade, 4ID, PA also stated that “the NTF ELCAC, cascaded down to the Provincial, City, Municipal, and Barangay level with the military and police units as components, facilitated the responsive delivery of government services in the remotest communities and this helped a lot in encouraging the disgruntled communist rebels to abandon their violent armed struggle.” He also believed that the continuous military pressure of the entire 403rd Infantry Brigade has finally compelled the disintegration of the communist Guerrilla Fronts in the Provinces of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental. Brigadier General Barandon also explained that “what we see now is the irreversible collapse of the communist terrorist group in Bukidnon and I think this is also happening in other insurgency-affected areas of the country. As the Communist Party of the Philippines celebrates its 52nd Founding Anniversary of lies, violence, corruption, and exploitation on December 26, 2020, the guerrilla units in Bukidnon are breaking down to their ultimate defeat as manifested by the continuous influx of surrenderors in the past years and recent months. We are now starting to reap, together with the local government units and agencies, the dividend of our interagency and military efforts to finally put an end to this destructive and deceitful communist insurgency.”
MGen Andres Centino, Commander of 4ID, emphasized in his statement, “Our troops will be relentless in our pursuit against the communist terrorists who have nothing to offer to the people but endless violence and vicious cycle of terror. This intensified campaign is aimed to finally put an end to the decades long problem of communist insurgency. Hence, we call on all well meaning and responsible citizens to support our campaign against the Communist Terrorist Group so that we will finally end this menace of our society.”
The military further calls on the business sectors and other victims of extortion by the CTGs to stand up and not be afraid, but cooperate instead with the authorities in order to stop the decades-long extortion of the CTGs that have been hampering the development of the affected localities.
“So long as they pursue their acts of terrorism, know that the Diamond Troopers will pursue with resolve and commitment to our mandate of protecting the people and the communities here in our area of responsibility. We call on everyone to support your government’s efforts of convergence to end this communist insurgency once and for all. The recent series of encounters in Bukidnon is a good example of the cooperation displayed by the local folks by tipping off the CTG’s location. The incident also manifested that the business owners are fed up with the CTG’s extortion schemes and have refused to give in to their demands. It is my hope that we continue working together as we deny the CTGs of their resource generation and finally triumph our communities over the terrorists who have been wreaking havoc in Northern Mindanao and Caraga,” The government has offered its peace through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP). Those who are still surviving should take advantage of this before it’s too late Centino said.
“To the remaining Communist NPA Terrorists, your end is nearing. Your meaningless cause is dying and your deception of the people has long been uncovered.
Lay down your arms while there is still time, receive the government’s socio-economic support and rejoin your families or continue with your terroristic ways and embrace certain demise,” Centino ended
