1,162 communist rebels ‘neutralized’ this year, says Lorenzana

The Department of National Defense (DND) on Wednesday announced that more than a thousand "communist terrorist group" members have been "neutralized" by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) this year.

"The AFP internal security operations led to the neutralization of 1,162 communist terrorist group members, 907 of them voluntarily surrendered," Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in his speech at the DND's 79th founding anniversary celebration.

The DND defines "neutralization" as "rendering [lawless elements] incapable of carrying out violent acts against the Filipino people, the government, and the nation." The department said that this happens "when they return to the fold of the law and live out peaceful lives in mainstream society, or willfully and permanently cease their participation in criminal acts of terror and violence, or are killed in an encounter with our defenders."

Lorenzana added that "1,238 firearms were yielded, out of which 560 were high-powered weapons."

Lorenzana also stated that across the country this year, 210 New People's Army-influenced barangays have been cleared, three guerrilla fronts have been dismantled, and 16 high-value targets from the communist group have been captured by the authorities.

"All these victories led to the recent pronouncement of the Commander-in-Chief, President Rodrigo Duterte, that the communist insurgency will be 'over' by the '2nd quarter of 2019,' " Lorenzana said.

'Balik-loob'

Lorenzana added that the inter-agency Task Force Balik-Loob (TFBL) was created in April following the influx of NPA members surrendering to the authorities.

TFBL aims to centralize the government's reintegration efforts for former rebels, Lorenzana explained.

According to the AFP Peace and Development Office, 3,443 individuals have surrendered as of September 2018.

These former rebels are now the beneficiaries of the government's Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program or E-CLIP.

"These are not rewards for surrendering, but are intended to give them a foothold in restarting their lives, allowing social healing and reconciliation that is needed to patch up the torn social fabric due to decades of conflict," Lorenzana said of the program's services and benefits.

He also implored soldiers and civilians not to hold any grievance against the reintegration benefits for the former rebels, saying that the social returns will far outweigh the costs.

"Kulang pa ang mga benepisyong 'yan kung ikukumpara sa halagang ibinibili natin ng baril at bala. Lalong maliit ang halaga niyan kumpara sa walang katumbas na buhay na nasasayang sa labanan ng Pilipino sa kapwa Pilipino," the DND chief said.

"Kapag nagtagumpay tayo laban sa mga teroristang komunista ay mapapakinabangan natin ang peace dividends o biyaya ng kapayapaan," he added.

Lorenzana counted as other highlights of the DND's 79th year the AFP modernization, efforts in maritime domain awareness and countering violent extremism, and improved humanitarian and disaster response. — BM, GMA News