PHILIPPINE National Police Chief Benjamin C. Acorda Jr. assured the 43 New People’s Army surrenderers from Bukidnon that they will be receiving government assistance in full.
Acorda said that the weapons they also surrendered will likewise be included in the assistance in the form of cash payment.
The former NPA guerrillas were presented to Acorda inside the police Camp Alagar.
Acorda also witnessed the distribution of sacks of rice, buckets of canned goods, and other food items during the NPA surrender, as he assured them of “full government support” in their bid to go back to civilian life.
“A lot of money has been wasted in buying bullets and armaments when these should have been used to rev up the economy,” he told them.
He said government assistance would be given to them immediately after they surrender “so that you can start to begin your journey back to civilian life.”
“I want you to feel and receive the social services that the government wants you to get. And as your Chief PNP, I will make sure that you get this government support to put your life back in order,” he said in a late morning program inside the police’s Camp Alagar headquarters.
The PNP listed a total of 43 NPA guerrillas under the North Central Mindanao Revolutionary Command who surrendered on different occasions between March last year and March this year.
Nine of them operated in San Fernando and 18 in Talakag, both in Bukidnon; 13 in Cagayan de Oro City; and three others from Bukidnon who are still awaiting their surrender papers.
The PNP presented 16 firearms to Acorda, including a caliber 50 improvised sniper rifle and three CZ rifles.(PR)