PAMPLONA, CAGAYAN - More than 100 members of the ANAKPAWIS group and Former Rebels (FRs) denounced the CPP-NPA-NDF and pledged their allegiance to the government during the dismantling ceremony held on April 24, 2021, in the municipality of Pamplona, Cagayan.

From the towns of Amulung, Pamplona, Piat, Solana, Sto. Niño, and Rizal, the said personalities disaffiliated from their respective progressive groups and shared the deceptions made by the said organizations to gain the support of the community. Several FRs likewise narrated the horrors of insurgency and the suffering they experienced with the Communist Terrorist Groups (CTGs).

In his message, NICA Regional Director Dennis Godfrey Gammad highlighted the importance of the activity in promoting peace and stability in the Cagayan Valley region. He said that the same is part of the whole-of-nation approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), pursuant to Executive Order No. 70 series of 2018 issued by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Meanwhile, Provincial Administrator Darwin Sacramed, representative of Cagayan Governor Manuel N.

Mamba, urged former rebels to take part in the government's peace building initiatives. He assured them that the provincial government is ready and capable to assist them in their reintegration process. Also, representatives from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) oriented the participants on the CTG problem in the country.  

Officials from PNP, DSWD, TESDA, DILG, and provincial government of Cagayan presented their relevant programs and projects which the former rebels may avail to assist them in their reintegration to the society. Moreover, the provincial government and PNP Regional Office 2 distributed relief packs and other essential supplies.

The activity culminated with the burning of CPP-NPA-NDF flags as a symbol of the growing call to finally end the communist armed conflict which hampers peace and development for more than 50 years. (SOURCE: LGOO II RENZ ANGELO P. UMAMBONG)