NUEVA VIZCAYA, PHILIPPINES — The Philippine Army dropped leaflets from a military helicopter in Aurora and Nueva Vizcaya to persuade the remaining New People’s Army (NPA) members to surrender.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said airborne leaflet operations were conducted last March 28 in Barangay Galintuja in Maria Aurora town, Aurora, and Barangay Lub-lub in Alfonso Castañeda town in Nueva Vizcaya.
According to Padilla, the Army carried out operations using the Black Hawk helicopter of the Philippine Air Force due to the challenging terrain in the area.
“These areas are challenging to reach, and it’s also tough for us to get our message across,” Padilla told reporters during a phone interview.
The Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program was advertised in about 1,000 pamphlets dropped in the designated locations.
An extensive package of incentives and help is intended to be given to former rebels who have chosen to come back under the legal system under the government’s E-CLIP project.
“We are enticing these individuals to go back to the folds of the law; we are very open for them to join the society and once again be with their families,” she said.
Padilla noted that the airborne leaflet operations are part of the AFP’s operational mix on information campaign.
The NPA, which wages the world’s most prolonged Maoist insurgency, was established on March 29, 1969.
As of December 2023, the NPA is now down to about 1,500 fighters, far from its peak of around 25,000 in 1987, according to the AFP.
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