THE Cordillera's top police officer believes the New People's Army (NPA) rebels under the Lejo Cawilan Command that is operating in Kalinga are now disgruntled and are sowing intrigues through fake news.
Ka Tipon Gil-Ayab, spokesman of the Lejo Cawilan Command-NPA Kalinga, accused the military and police of fabricating NPA surrenderers for the Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-Clip).
But Police Brigadier General Israel Ephraim Dickson, director of the Police Regional Office-Cordillera, cited the surrender of 65 personalities in Lubuagan who were accused as Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) pretending to be NPA rebels.
The police regional command clarified that the 65 Lubuagan residents surrendered to authorities to clear their involvement with the Sangay ng Partido sa Lokalidad (SPL), or underground committees organized by the NPA to provide them with intelligence and logistical support.
"To claim them as civilians is a desperate NPA damage control effort to deny the exposure of their underground community organizing. In making the conflicting claim that they are disguised Cafgus is seen by Lubuagan residents as a threat to the SPL members who had the courage to reveal their involvement to the authorities. It is not possible for Cafgus to pretend to be NPA surrenderees since validation for E-Clip is not undertaken by the military but by the LGUs and other government line agencies," Dickson said.
Dickson also dispelled NPA's statement that Alex Tongdo alias Ka Diwa is a recycled surrenderer who surrendered in 2017.
"This appears to be another form of threat, as no mention is made of the arms cache that the former NPA commander surrendered, but instead laid the foundation for NPA deniability when it conducts any reprisal against Tongdo," Dickson added.