By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The New People’s Army (NPA) was urged to abandon their armed struggle following the death of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP-NPA) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison.

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the passing of Sison should also cause the end of the call for an armed revolution.

Lacson said the Filipino people have been pursuing peace for a long time and with Sison’s passing, the time has come for the NPA to abandon the armed conflict and effectively work towards a lasting genuine peace.

Meanwhile, Philippine Army 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, Brigadier General Inocencio Pasaporte is hoping that the NPA should seriously think about what they are doing.

Pasaporte reiterated again the insurgents to abandon the armed struggle.

He believes that more NPA members will surrender soon following the deaths of several of their leaders in Negros in the last few months.

On the other hand, Western Visayas Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict spokesperson Flosemer Chris Gonzales said in a statement over the weekend that Sison will be remembered by the Filipino people as the founder of the single most destructive and most notorious organization in the Philippines.

Gonzales vowed that they would bury the CPP, the NPA and its connected organizations and allied fronts together with Sison and they would not rest until every single member is arrested, prosecuted, punished, and neutralized, or has chosen the path of reconciliation by surrendering unconditionally to the government.

Sison passed away at the age of 83 last Friday, December 16 (Philippine time) at a hospital in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Sison had been in self-imposed exile in Europe since 1987, following the failure of peace talks with the government./DGB, WDJ