NPA recruiting tribal warriors - NCIP head

The chairman of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) told the Senate yesterday that the New People's Army (NPA) has been recruiting tribal warriors, taking advantage of the non-implementation of Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA).

"I am alarmed at this development," NCIP head David Daoas told the Senate committee on cultural communities headed by Sen. Gregorio Honasan.

This developed as government troops killed six communist guerrillas during a raid in Tabaco, Albay yesterday,

Col. Dante Bonifacio, commander of the 202nd Infantry Brigade based in Daraga town, said residents tipped off the military about the presence of the rebels.

A 20-member unit raided a house being used by the rebels, killing six of them in a gunbattle, he said. The troops recovered six assault rifles and a grenade launcher.

Daoas said that unless the government acts swiftly in implementing the IPRA, rebels could gain a foothold in tribal communities.

Daoas and NCIP executive director Juris Rita Duenas said funds for the operation of the agency have also been frozen.

Meanwhile, a Church group, Promotion of Church People's Response (PCPR), assailed Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), for having reportedly given his "blessing" to the government's move to strengthen the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU).

The PCPR also claimed that the military plans to enlist 8,000 former Alsa Masa members in its counter-insurgency campaign.