6th ID entices NPAs to avail of gov't reconciliation program 

MAGUINDANAO --- The Army’s 6^th Infantry Division has expanded its anti-communist insurgency initiatives but the gates of its camps remain wide open to rebels wishing to return to mainstream society.

Major Gen. Juvymax Uy of 6^th ID said Wednesday they can reintroduce members in Central Mindanao of the New People’s Army (NPA) to the local communities via the municipal and provincial governments in the region.

“The 6^th ID shall always opt for the peaceful return to the fold of law of communist rebels. The use of military force to quell security problems shall always be the last option, only if all peaceful efforts of addressing security problems have been exhausted and only if lives of innocent people are already at stake,” Uy said.

Uy, commander of 6^th ID that has three brigades and more than dozen battalions scattered in central Mindanao, said he is thankful to local executives in the region for continuously supporting the division’s peace and reconciliation campaigns based on powers vested in them by the Local Government Code, or the Republic Act 7160.

Six more members of NPAs last week bolted from the group and surrendered to the Army’s 37^th Infantry Battalion of the 603^rd Brigade, both under 6^th ID.

The six rebels, who turned in assorted firearms and materials for improvised explosive devices, belonged to a group operating in the hinterland borders of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato provinces.

Two other NPAs also surrendered early this week in Barangay Lamlahak in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato through the efforts of the Army’s 5^th Special Forces Battalion, also under 6^th ID.

More than 50 NPAs have renounced their membership in batches since January through backdoor efforts of different 6^th ID units and local officials in central Mindanao’s adjoining Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Sarangani provinces, where there is presence of communist rebel groups that have a reputation for extorting money on hapless farmers.

“We shall gladly welcome NPA members wishing to turn in their firearms and renounce their NPA membership as a  prelude to their return to mainstream society. The LGUs and the 6^th ID can work together in returning them to the local communities,” Uy said.

Some of the almost 200 new personnel of 6^th ID --- privates who have just undergone candidate soldiers’ training --- dispatched to different units last week, shall be utilized for community service missions in support of efforts to LGUs to entice NPAs to avail of the government’s reconciliation program, according to Uy.