RPA-ABB submit guns, ammo for inventory

By Georgene Rhena P. Quilaton-Tambiga

                Elements of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) submitted their firearms, ammunitions and explosives (FAEs) to the inventory team of the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process (OPPAP) and Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office-Crime Laboratory at Barangay Bagonbon Hall, March 21-22.

Just an inventory

                RPA-ABB spokesperson Victorino "Ka Ricky" Sumulong said the inventory does not mean that their group is now turning over their arms to the government but that the latter is accounting FAEs as "a step towards the final disposition of arms and forces" as the peace agreement draws to a close. The inventory is also considered a "confidence building measure" for the closure of the agreement which was signed December 2000.

Inspection. Police personnel from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office-Crime Laboratory inspects the long firearm submitted during the inventory. Some arms are high caliber while some are improvised called in Cebuano as pugakhang or sulpak. RPA-ABB has not yet agreed to surrender their FAEs but the inventory is already a step to settling the issue.       

Armed. RPA-ABB members who have found Barangay Bagonbon, San Carlos City a peaceful and suitable settlement stand guard at the Barangay Hall where OPPAP teams are gathering bio-metrics data of profiled members. The group has 192 profiled members in District I. They refuse to surrender their firearms yet feeling the threat posed by a rival armed rebel group. 

Security issue

                Sumulong explained that RPA-ABB continues to hold firearms for security reasons. "Ang peace agreement is thrust gid ya sa amon organisasyon. Pero security ang amon concern. Sige pa ang negotiations sa actual nga disposition sang mga armas," he added but maintained that their continued possession of FAEs is not a hindrance to the closure of the negotiation and the reintegration of RPA-ABB members back to mainstream society.

                Thus, the group's arms that include M-16 armalite rifles, M-14 and M-1 garand assault rifles, Uzi and Ingram machine pistols, .45 caliber and 9mm pistols, among others, were returned to them right after the inventory.

                Of the 192 members profiled in District I (Escalante City to Don Salvador Benedicto), Ka Ricky said 185 came to the center of Barangay Bagonbon for the inventory. This process is being conducted since March 21 in Negros Island, Panay, National Capital Region and Bukidnon.

                Based on a close examination by the Crime Laboratory, the arms are all functioning but some are only improvised. It is estimated that one RPA-ABB member possesses one firearm and that they also possess community owned guns. Approximately 90 percent of all the arms of the members in District I had been accounted for.

Peace & development

                OPPAP is now on the process of settling members in peace and development communities (PDCs). In Negros Island, there are three; one each in San Carlos, Negros Oriental and Panay.

                Members in District I chose Sitio Nangka, Barangay Bagonbon as their PDC site. It is a 20-hectare forest area around 10 kilometers away from the barangay center. Ka Ricky said the site suits their community well because most members are agricultural workers and had been engaged in forest protection way before the agreement was inked.

                RPA-ABB has around 700 members nationwide but the bulk of their force is in Negros Occidental.