FIFTY-five suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) had heeded government calls for them to surrender and return to the mainstream of society following the death of the self-exiled Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Chairman Jose Ma. “Joma” Sison, said National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Major General Jonnel C. Estomo, on Tuesday.

According to the official, the 55 heeded the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) call for “peace and unity” while the CPP was marking its 54th anniversary on Monday.

Estomo has been echoing the call of PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. for all CPP/NPA members and supporters to “surrender and swear allegiance to the government and avail of a comprehensive package that will enable them to feed their families without always being on the run.”

Following the death of Sison, the Marcos government urged the remaining CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) members to give up their armed struggle and return to the mainstream of the society to restore the “long-lost peace and unity in the country.”

“We believe that despite the difference in belief and ideology, we are one in pursuing a safe and progressive community for our children and families,” said Estomo.

According to the Metro Manila police chief, Joma Sison, for decades, led the CPP-NPA from abroad, particularly in The Netherlands.

Sison’s demise was predicted to gravely cause the “deterioration of the influence,” capability and manpower of the long-running guerrilla insurgency in the country.

Estomo said the 55 formally withdrew their allegiance from leftist organizations during a program where Azurin spoke to commend the NCRPO’s latest feat in the government’s effort to end the communist armed conflict.

The NCRPO chief said that the 55 also turned over to them one caliber .357 revolver with six live ammunition, one M-16 automatic rifle, one 9mm pistol with two magazines containing 24 live ammunition, one 12-gauge shotgun, one cal. .45 semi-automatic pistol with six bullets, two cal. .38 revolvers, six cal. .40mm ammunition, 123 rounds of cal. 5.56 live ammunition, 23 assorted handheld radios, nine radio charger adopters, six radio charger bases, a base radio module, six bandoliers, and ten improvised pipe bombs.

During the event, the 55 surrenderers took their oath of allegiance to the Philippine Government. They renounced their CPP/NPA membership and ideologies before joining in the ripping of their “hammer and sickle” flags.

“Napakagandang regalo po ng inyong pagsuko at pagbabalik loob sa inyong mga mahal sa buhay, kaibigan at pamilya. Makakaasa po kayo na ang PNP ay laging handang sumuporta sa inyong hangarin na talikuran at iwaksi ang komunismo at karahasan upang sama-sama tayong makapag simula muli ng isang mas maayos, tahimik at payapang buhay,” said Azurin.

“Gayundin naman, palagi pong bukas ang kamay ng ating gobyerno para yakapin pabalik at tulungang magsimula muli ang sinuman na nais ng sumuko sa walang saysay na pakikibaka,” he added.

Since last January, the NCRPO has convinced 156 CPP-NPA members to surrender while launching operations which led to the arrest of 16 armed rebels and the killing of another during a firefight, said Estomo.