GMA accepts 149 NPA reb returnees

President Arroyo accepted yesterday the surrender of 149 New People’s Army (NPA) communist guerrillas and promised them livelihood assistance.

The rebels had surrendered in batches in the past two weeks, citing hardship in the mountains amid a stepped-up campaign by the military, said Maj. Gen. Efren Abu, commander of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division based in Tanay, Rizal.

The group was presented to Mrs. Arroyo in Barangay Pibugay in Baras, Rizal.

"Welcome back my countrymen and countrywomen," the President told the former rebels as she handed them each a check for P2,500 as part of government assistance.

Mrs. Arroyo promised a house to each of the former rebels and their sympathizers who had surrendered to Abu.

Speaking at the surrender ceremonies, Mrs. Arroyo said she had instructed Secretary Michael Defensor of the Housing and Urban Development and Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to coordinate with Rizal Gov. Minnie Yñares in constructing low-cost houses for the former NPA rebels.

"‘So we should include housing for rebel returnees under (Kabalikan sa Kaunlaran) with the lands that the provincial government of Governor Ynares promised," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said she would match with houses the pledge of Ynares to give land to the former rebels, where they could build homes and set up farms.

"Governor Ynares said that she is willing to provide lots (to the former rebels) in Pibugay," she said.

The P2,500 check given to each surrenderee is meant to help them start a livelihood project.

The President also promised to construct roads and electrical services in the countryside, saying that poverty was among the reasons why the former rebels had joined the NPA in the first place.

Of the 149 surrendered rebels, 17 had come from the towns of Rodriguez, Tanay, Baras, Pililia and Morong and the city of Antipolo.

During the same ceremonies, Mrs. Arroyo said a South Korean

company, which had invested almost $1 billion in a power plant in Batangas City, would donate facilities to provide electricity to at least 200 barangays nationwide.

"And while I was looking at the list of barangays where you come from, I think one of the reasons why the (rebels) entered the NPA movement is because that their places don’t even have electricity," she said.

"So Gen. Efren Abu, our commander of the 2nd division, I’m going to ask our Energy Secretary Vincent Perez to identify the barangays that must be provided with electricity in your areas here in Rizal."

Mrs. Arroyo said the former rebels would be helped by the Kabalikat sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) under national anti-poverty convenor Teresita Deles in their effort to reintegrate into Philippine society.

Mrs. Arroyo also agreed to be a godmother to the unborn child of an NPA amazon, who went by the nom de guerre "Ka Lorena," after she gives birth.

Ka Lorena, who joined the NPA at when she was only 15, led the former rebels in formally surrendering their arms to Mrs. Arroyo and Armed Forces Southern Luzon chief Maj. Gen. Roy Kyamko.

Mrs. Arroyo motored to Baras, along with Defensor, retired Gen. Eduardo Ermita who is presidential adviser on the peace process, and other Cabinet officials.

Also present at the surrender ceremonies were Antipolo City Mayor Lito Gatlabayan and Chief Superintendent Enrique Galang, Southern Tagalog police commander.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) which has been waging a 33-year communist insurgency against Manila.

The US and European Union governments have officially designated the CPP-NPA in their list of foreign terrorist organizations, making it illegal to send monetary support to them and provide sanctuary to exiled rebel leaders.

Manila however has said it will extend an amnesty program for the rebels.

Peace talks with the communists collapsed in mid-2001 when NPA hit men assassinated congressmen Marcial Punzalan of Quezon and Rodolfo Aguinaldo of Cagayan. — Marichu Villanueva, AFP