By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (303IBde) is now aggressively targeting the resource generation of the New People’s Army (NPA), the reason for their drastic weakening over the past few months.

Brigadier General Orlando Edralin, 303IBde commander, said the Army noticed the firearms that were recently given up by NPA surrenderees were high-powered.

Edralin said these firearms were procured by the NPA from the forced taxation of local sugarcane farmers in Negros Occidental.

As the government repeatedly foiled NPA’s attempts to extort from the populace, they have cut-off their access to crucial resources and funding.

Edralin also said the weapons surrendered by the now former rebels will undergo ballistic examination to find out if they were government-issued weapons.

On Friday, May 26, eight NPA surrenderees were presented at the 303IBde’s headquarters at Barangay Minoyan in Negros Occidental’s Murcia town.

They handed over their firearms to the Army and received financial and livelihood assistance so that they could start their lives anew./DGB, WDJ