AFP renews offer for holiday truce to CPP-NPA
No takers as of yet on government's generous Christmas gift to communist terrorists New People's Army (NPA) yet the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) here are not giving up.
As such, AFP is calling anew for families of NPAs in the region to help broker peace and heed the holiday truce offered all in the spirit of the yuletide season.
"We come in peace and we are offering peace," Captain Lowen Gil Marquez, AFP commanding officer of the 3rd Civil Relations Group said in a The News Today (TNT) interview yesterday. "All we ask is for ceasefire and to those who are ready to go back to the folds of law and be part of our just society. And lay down your arms as we help you get back to your life with a P200,000 gift."
The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and tagged on continued harassments in hinterland barangays of the region.
Surrender with the firearm, specifics of the offer went, and get the financial reward, Captain Marquez said.
Such as follow-up assistance was also drawn up by the AFP.
For spending years of immersion in communist camps and forced battle with the government, the AFP will help the surrenderee move on with his civilian life. As such, workshops and training programs will be conducted aimed at giving the communist surrenderee a sustainable livelihood post-NPA years.
Captain Marquez has since offered his services and his office to act as negotiator to willing takers. Understandably, he added, the NPA fighters fear for their lives both from the offensives and continued operation of the government and fear from within the communist party.
"They can also surrender through their choice of local officials – their mayors, congressmen – and even the media. In the spirit of Christmas, we would certainly want them to spend the holidays with their families and take this time to have a new life," Captain Marquez then said. "In this regard, we call on other militant groups – Bayan Muna, Gabriela, League of Filipino Students - to do the same and offer a better life to our brothers and sisters in the mountains free from violence."
With the holiday truce re-echoed, a special appeal was likewise made by Captain Marquez to minor and women NPAs.
"In Panay there could be some 100 NPA fighters altogether. Their numbers are not really that significant but we have this offer still," he continued.
Meantime, the call for ceasefire was also made with Captain Marquez stressing that what the AFP wants is to have a peaceful and meaningful celebration for all.
It was not immediately clear how many Western Visayas villages remain under threat with the NPA presence and influence here.