IMPASUGONG, BUKIDNON – To welcome their return to the government, 12 Former Rebels (FRs) under the care of the 8th Infantry “Dependable” Battalion were given assistance by the Local Government Unit (LGU) of the province of Bukidnon at the covered court of the Headquarters 403rd Infantry Brigade, Brgy. Impalambong, Malaybalay City last October 12, 2021.
The said FRs were among the 30 former CPP-NPA Terrorists (CNTs) presented to Hon. Jose Maria R. Zubiri Jr., the Provincial Governor of Bukidnon during the “Presentation of Former Rebels (FRs) and Surrendered Firearms” activity.
The activity was also attended by Major General Romeo S Brawner Jr, Commander of 4ID, Brigadier General Ferdinand T. Barandon, Commander of 403rd Brigade, Mr. Raymund D. Lopez, Asst. Regional Director of National Intelligence Coordinating Agency 10 (NICA10), Police Lt Col Daryl Aramton, Police Provincial Office of Bukidnon, Ms. Charmaigne Tadlas, Capability and Development Officer of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 10, Col Jose Arn M Real, Deputy Brigade Commander, 403rd Bde together with the Commanders of 8IB, 88IB, and 1st Special Forces Battalion.
The FRs received PhP 25,000.00 each from the Bukidnon LGU, PhP 10,000.00 each from the DSWD-10 as well as hygiene kits, sacks of rice, food packs, kitchen utensils, and sleeping kits. Further, Governor Zubiri during his speech pledged additional PhP 25,000.00 financial assistance for each of the FR.
To further show his commitment to end the local insurgency, Governor Zubiri Jr. vowed to build 200 houses for the FRs in Bukidnon, wherein the 30 FRs were included among the beneficiaries.
Diden Ampeldon Landasan Alias Ana/Sun, former Finance Officer of Guerrilla Front 89, Sub-Regional Committee 2, North Central Mindanao Regional Committee expressed her gratitude and said, “Nagpasalamat ako sa atong gobyerno sa mga tabang nga gihatag kanamo sa among pagbalik sa sabakan sa gobyerno, ilabi na sa mga kasundalohan nga wala kami pasagdi sukad pagnaog namo. Sigurado ako nga matinuod na ang akong pangandoy nga mamuyo og malinawon kauban akong pamilya.” (I am thankful to our government because of the assistance they have given us as we return to the folds of the law, especially to our soldiers for taking care of us since our surrender. We are now sure that our dream of living a better and peaceful life with our family will come true.)
LTC Edgardo Talaroc Jr, Commander 8IB, said, “Among hugot nga ginapasalamatan ang atong mga kauban alang sa kalinaw ug kalambuan ilabi na ang lokal nga panggamhanan sa Bukidnon, DSWD-10, NICA-10, TESDA-10, Bukidnon Provincial Police Office (BukPPO) ug daghang uban pa nga naningkamot aron mahuman na ang insurhensya. Daghan pa ang tabang nga moabot alang sa mga kanhing rebelde maong padayun namong panawagan sa mga CNT nga inyong dawaton ug gakson ang tabang sa gobyerno tungod ang armadong pakigbisog ang walay kadaugan nga makab-ot.” (We thank our peace and development partners, the LGU of Bukidnon, the DSWD-10, NICA-10, TESDA-10, BukPPO and many other agencies who work hard in order to finally end our insurgency problem. More assistance will be given to the FRs which is why we continue to urge the remaining CNTs to embrace the assistance of the government because there’s no future in continuing the armed struggle.)
It can be noted that among the 12 surrenderees, two (2) are High-Value Individuals and one (1) is a minor. They brought with them 11 firearms which include nine (9) High-powered and two (2) low-powered firearms.
