The New People’s Army-Cagayan Valley (Fortunato Camus Command) strongly condemned the 5th Infantry Division, police, and RTF-Elcac for yet another spectacle of civilians as “surrenderers.” It refuted claims that the civilians who “surrendered” from January to March this year were combatants or active members of any NPA unit in the region.

This March, the state presented 18 farmers (two women, 16 men) as “surrenderers” who “turned over weapons.” According to the police, most of the 18 who allegedly became “members” or “supporters” of the NPA were active in the 1990s. Similar to those who “fired back” under the sham war on drugs, the (soldiers’) playbook notably involves “surrendering” only one type of weapon—a homemade or improvised shotguns (called “one pong”).

“Like previous AFP-PNP presentations of fake surrenderers, the latest are farmers and civilians,” NPA-Cagayan Valley political officer Elias Almazan said. The identities of the 18 individuals hidden behind aliases such as Totoy, Boboy, Loloy, Popoy, Dodong, Dading, and others were also possibly fabricated. This is similar to fabricated encounters where weapons and equipment were allegedly seized, Almazan said.

The military presented the “surrenderers” a week after the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA-Region 2) stated that it would not “be complacent” because the NPA allegedly still has the capability to expand. Battalion-strength operations continue in barangays, and new soldiers have recently been added, despite the military’s declaration that three provinces in Cagayan are already insurgency-free.