PNP chief welcomes 44 NPA rebels to the fold of the law
FORTY-FOUR members of the New People’s Army who have surrendered to Philippine National Police authorities in Northern Mindanao were warmly welcomed back to the fold of law by PNP chief Gen. Benjamin C. Acorda Jr. on Friday last week, the Journal Group learned yesterday.
The 44, joined by Area Police Command-Eastern Mindanao commander Lt. Gen. Filmore B. Escobal, formally received the 44 members of the CPP-NPA North Central Mindanao Regional Committee at the Police Regional Office 10 headquarters in Cagayan de Oro City.
The top cop also inspected a cache of high-powered NPA weapons recovered by the local police in an operation in Bgy. Lapok in Talakag, Bukidnon during his visit to the PRO10.
The weapons, which include one cal. 50 improvised sniper rifle, three cal. 5.56 M-16 automatic rifles, three cal. 7.62 M-14 rifles; three cal. 7.62 CZ rifles; and t2o cal. .45 semi-automatic pistols were found inside a drum buried underneath by local guerrillas.
A tip from a former NPA member enabled officers from the Bukidnon Police Provincial Office, the APC-EM, the Revitalized-Pulis sa Barangay Miarayon team and the 12th Special Action Company of the PNP Special Action Force to find the exact location of the buried weapons last July 2, said Escobal.
Acorda commended the policemen led by Maj. Anthony Towned, Capt. Srailland dela Vega and Lt. Jan Kevin Antonio for confiscating the hidden rebel guns buried by members of an NCRMC platoon.
During his visit, Acorda personally greeted the 44, who were formerly members of several NPA guerrilla fronts operating in the region. He also said that the NPA weapons were retrieved through the collaborative effort of their R-PSB team and other law enforcement agencies in the region.
The R-PSB is a flagship program of APCEastern Mindanao, which aims to establish safe and conflict-resilient communities, apart from preparing them for further development.
