ON Tuesday, July 23, seven members of the New People’s Army (NPA) surrendered to the troops of the 48th Infantry Battalion under the 10th Infantry Division in the town of Quezon in the province of Bukidnon, along with nine mass supporters of the terrorist group.
These NPA members were associated with the disbanded Guerilla Front 6 (DGF6), Sub-Regional Committee 2 (SRC2) of the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC).
They also voluntarily surrendered two high-caliber firearms, including an AK-47 rifle and a CZ 858 rifle.
According to LtCol. Gilbert Gomez, commander of the 48th Infantry Battalion, their efforts towards achieving peace in their area are effective and should be continued.
“This is a manifestation that our efforts to win the peace and sustainment operation are effective. Let’s continue work for an insurgency-free Bukidnon,” said LtCol. Gilbert Gomez, Commander, 48th Infantry Battalion.
Meanwhile, according to Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), there have been no active guerrilla fronts in the country for the past two years.
“What we are doing is, we were given a target to eliminate this internal security challenge, and we can see from the statistics that have been said that we now have zero active guerrilla fronts,” said Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, Spokesperson, AFP.
Padilla added that in the latest command conference, only seven weak guerrilla fronts are being monitored.
“In the latest command conference, there are only seven remaining, and we see that their numbers are really dwindling,” she added.
