THIRTY-TWO members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the Bicol region on Sunday, October 9, 2022, surrendered to local authorities and were formally welcomed back into the folds of the law by Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr.

“I was in the Bicol region where I personally welcomed the formal surrender of 32 members of the local communist movement and communist terrorist group who have returned to the fold of the law to rejoin the mainstream of society as productive citizens,” the top cop said.

The 32 yielded to the government following talks with officers of the Police Regional Office 5 (PRO5) headed by Brig. Gen. Rudolph B. Dimas.

Azurin said that in the wake of the scuttled peace negotiations with the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines)-NPA (New People’s Army)-NDF (National Democratic Front), the PNP is fully supporting the government’s initiative to promote localized peace talks with the local communist movement and its remaining guerilla fronts in the countryside.

“This policy of the government to reach out the hand of friendship in a grand gesture of peace augurs well for the community policing mandate of the PNP based on the principle that local problems are best resolved at the community level by all members of the community themselves which include among others, families, barangays, LGU [local government unit], religious sector, NGOs [non-governmental organizations], and police, under the synergy of Kasimbayanan (Kapulisan, Simbahan at Pamayanan),” he said.

Azurin also joined Dimas in accepting the formal turnover of a newly-constructed building from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the PNP convergence program under the police force’s peace process and development initiatives.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon