QUITTING THE NPA. Some of the 186 supporters of the New People's Army (NPA) during a mass surrender in Carigara, Leyte on Nov. 26, 2021. Days after these residents pledged their allegiance to the government, a Philippine Army official has warned residents in remote communities in Leyte of the NPA's recruitment strategy during the pandemic.(Photo courtesy of Philippine Army) TACLOBAN CITY - A Philippine Army official has warned residents in remote communities in Leyte of the New People's Army's (NPA) recruitment strategy this pandemic. Brig. Gen. Zosimo Oliveros, Philippine Army's 802nd Infantry Brigade commander, said on Wednesday the NPA has been concentrating on organizing groups of farmers, taking advantage of their need for livelihood opportunities during this health crisis. "People in far-flung areas are being organized and they were promised with assistance for them to cope up with the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic. They are not aware that they are being e
TACLOBAN CITY The local government of Carigara in Leyte welcomes the mass surrender of at least 186 members and supporters of various controlled and allied organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) recently. The surrenderers
ABANDONING NPA. The 186 supporters of the New People's Army (NPA) during a mass surrender in Carigara, Leyte on Friday (Nov. 26, 2021). These surrenderers are from the town's 10 villages.(PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano) CARIGARA, Leyte- A total of 186 supporters of the New People's Army (NPA) from 10 villages of Carigara, Leyte surrendered to government authorities on Friday. Among the surrenderers is 24-year-old Jonnel Anos, the lone NPA fighter among those who yielded. Traumatized by clashes with soldiers in the outskirts of Hilongos, Leyte, and sleepless nights and hunger, Anos decided to return to his family in December 2018. "We were told that the fight is for the welfare of the poor, but I realized that it's all about their propaganda," said Anos, of Canlampay village here. The NPA persuaded him to join as a combatant when he was 20 years old in 2017. The ceremony for the surrender of Anos and 185 NPA mass base supporters at the town gymnasium was witnesse
ABANDONING NPA. The 186 supporters of the New People's Army (NPA) during a mass surrender in Carigara, Leyte on Friday (Nov. 26, 2021). These surrenderers are from the town's 10 villages.(PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano) CARIGARA, Leyte- A total of 186 supporters of the New People's Army (NPA) from 10 villages of Carigara, Leyte surrendered to government authorities on Friday. Among the surrenderers is 24-year-old Jonnel Anos, the lone NPA fighter among those who yielded. Traumatized by clashes with soldiers in the outskirts of Hilongos, Leyte, and sleepless nights and hunger, Anos decided to return to his family in December 2018. "We were told that the fight is for the welfare of the poor, but I realized that it's all about their propaganda," said Anos, of Canlampay village here. The NPA persuaded him to join as a combatant when he was 20 years old in 2017. The ceremony for the surrender of Anos and 185 NPA mass base supporters at the town gymnasium was witnesse
SURRENDERERS. The two members of the New People's Army (NPA) who surrendered to soldiers of the 802nd Infantry Brigade on Nov. 24, 2021. The military said on Thursday (Nov. 25) they expect more rebels to yield to authorities.(Photo courtesy of Philippine Army) TACLOBAN CITY - Two disgruntled New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Leyte have recently surrendered with their high-powered firearms as government heightens the drive to completely wipe out the insurgency, the Philippine Army reported on Thursday. First to voluntarily surrender to the Army's 802nd Infantry Brigade was alias Nonoy, 52, of Tapol village in Leyte town who brought with him an M16 rifle with six magazines and 15 rounds of caliber 5.56 mm ammunition. He told soldiers when he showed up at the camp on Wednesday that he is a peasant organizer of the Mataloto Farmers Association and a member of an underground mass organization (UGMO) where he functioned as an armorer, among others. "Nonoy" has been supp