Gov’t to welcome NPA surrenderers: DND

MANILA – Rebels of the New People’s Army (NPA) who are tired of the incessant fighting and who wish to live in peace with their loved ones are very welcome to surrender and join society again, a defense official said.

“The SND (Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana) has time and again called on the NPA to stop all their illegal activities, return to the fold of the law, and be part of the real change that the President (Rodrigo Duterte) has spearheaded for the betterment of our country and the lives of our people,” Department of National Defense (DND) public affairs office chief Arsenio Andolong said Sunday when asked to comment on Duterte’s plan to declare the NPA a terrorist organization.

The Chief Executive made the statement following the rebel group’s series of atrocities in Mindanao, including an ambush that killed a four-month-old baby girl and a police officer.

Andolong said it is not too late for NPA members who want to surrender.

“If they are really sincere in pursuing what is good for the Filipino nation, they should lay down their arms and turn their backs on banditry and violence now,” he said.