Samar Villagers Stage Anti-NPA Rally

More than 300 residents from 12 upland villages of Calbiga, Samar joined a peace rally at the town’s plaza, expressing opposition to recruitment activities being conducted by the New People’s Army (NPA).

The activity organized by the Philippine Army 87th Infantry Battalion (IB) based in Calbiga, Samar counters the 50th anniversary celebration of the armed struggle of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Rommel Cabanayan, 87th IB commander, said placards condemning the extremists were displayed. These were later burned by the protesters to express their disgust with the anti-government movement.

“The gathering was to evade the public of getting into the trap of the rebels who have been trying to entice them of good words. Also, it was intended to encourage the radical members to go back in the arms of the government and avail the government aid intended for them,” Cabanayan said in a phone interview Thursday.

The town’s president of association of village chiefs Miguel Cabornay and local police chief Senior Insp. Michael Ray Cañete were among the resource speakers.

The Samar provinces have been the stronghold of armed rebels due to its densely-forested mountainous areas, high poverty incidence, and issue of widespread landlessness, according to a 2013 study of William Norman Holden of the University of Calgary in Canada.

The NPA launched its first tactical operation in the country in Calbiga, Samar in 1974, when its members ambushed an Army scout patrol and seized a number of weapons.

In 1976, the NPA gained popular support among the inhabitants of Samar following its campaign against cattle rustling gangs. (PNA)