The Communist Party of the Philippines has postponed its annual assembly and mass wedding ceremony in Bacuag, Surigao del Norte, following the reported tension between the military and the rebels despite a unilateral ceasefire.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the CPP “can go ahead” with the gathering of their leaders, as well as members of the New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front, noting that the holiday truce is still in effect.
A certain Ka Oto, who identifies himself as spokesman of the Guerrilla ront 16, Northeastern Mindanao Regional Command, said government troops were deployed in the area, which prompted them to cancel the plenum.
He also said the journalists invited to cover the event were told not to proceed as there was security concerns and their safety could not be guaranteed.
But Lorenzana said the troops did not provoke tension with the NPA.
“So they have a plenum? They can go ahead. Our troops are not prohibited from doing their other duties such [as] law enforcement and assisting the local populace,” Lorenzana said.
“The ceasefire prohibits them from engaging the NPA in combat. Our troops will only react in self-defense,” he added.
However, Major General Nemecio Gacal Jr., chief of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said that the communist rebels violated the ceasefire with their attempt to hold their plenum and mass wedding of their members near a community.
Gacal said the ceasefire agreement was “clear that the rebels should not have ventured out from their camps.”
CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison said they will not pull out from the negotiating table because of the incident.
“There was no exchange of gunfire and there was no bloody incident. This is too small to warrant a pull out from the negotiations,” Sison said.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier invited Sison, who has been in self-exile in the Netherlands for decades, for a one-on-one meeting in the Philippines, but the CPP leader rejected the offer, citing security risks.
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On Monday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said it would accept the challenge of leftist lawmakers for a congressional inquiry into the government’s program for rebel surrenderers.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said it would be an opportunity to place on the record the thousands of rebels who have surrendered and benefited from the program.
“The government won’t back down to the challenge of the leftist groups to hold an inquiry because there’s no corruption or anomaly in the program,” Año said in Filipino. “By all means, we urge Congress to do an inquiry so that the public will know the truth about the success of the ECLIP program.”
Año said a congressional probe would allow the government to report to the public the significant accomplishments of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), which provides a complete package of assistance to former members of the New People’s Army and Militia ng Bayan and their family members who have laid down their arms to become productive members of the society.
“If the Makabayan bloc thinks that the government would be shamed in this issue, they’re wrong. We would even be given the chance to show the public the number of NPA and Militia ng Bayan (members) who have returned to the fold of law and encourage the others to surrender because the government will help them,” Año said.
From July 2018 to November 2019 alone, a total of P171.6 million in financial assistance package have been released to 2,882 rebel surrenderers under E-CLIP of the interagency Task Force Balik-Loob, Año said.
Of the 2,882 total number of former rebels, 2,635 among them were granted immediate assistance; 1,788 with livelihood assistance; and 655 firearms remuneration amounting to P171.6-million through E-CLIP from July 2018 to November 2019.
Under the E-CLIP grant, surrendered rebels or their qualified beneficiaries are entitled to benefits that include guaranteed safety and security; monetary assistance such as a PP50,000 in livelihood assistance, P21,000 for meals costs and P15,000 per rebel returnee for mobilization expenses. They are also compensated for the firearms they turn it.
“If necessary, we would let the E-CLIP beneficiaries attend the inquiry so that they themselves prove the government’s assistance to surrenderers like them. The public would know who’s telling the truth,” Año said. With PNA