LUPON, DAVAO ORIENTAL —- The New People’s Army turned over its two prisoners of war to Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao on Friday, afternoon, August 26 in Barangay Calapagan, Lupon, Davao Oriental.

Pacquiao arrived past 12:00 noon with Compostela Valley 2nd District Rep. Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, Davao City Councilor Leah Librado-Yap, Sarangani province Board Member Cyril Yap, Reverend Jurie Jaime of the Exodus of Justice and Peace and other church leaders.

Pacquiao said he asked permission from President Rodrigo Duterte to allow him facilitate the release of the prisoners.

He said that he is willing to go to the countrysides to talk to the poor and address their needs.

“Nadunggan nako ang inyong mulo ug problema na dapat maaksyunan, hilabina sa mga pamilya nga naapektohan (I hear your cries and your problems that the government needs to address especially for the affected families),” he told the crowd.

He said that if the government wants peace it should address the needs of the poor.

“Naintindihan ko yung hinaing nila, kung gusto natin ng kapayapaan, pakinggan natin yung hinaing ng mahihirap na tao (I understand their demands. If we want to attain peace we need to listen to the demands of the poor),” the senator said.

Wearing orange shirts printed with the word POW Prisoners of War, the police officers from Davao Oriental, Police Chief Inspector Arnold Ongachen, chief of the Governor Generoso Police Station and PO1 Michael Grande of Banaybanay Police Station were also welcomed by their families.

Ongachen was captured by the NPAs during its attack on the municipal police station in Governor Generoso on May 29, 2016.

The communist group has identified the municipality of Governor Generoso as a “gateway of illegal drug trade in the province.” It also claimed that the attack was meant to punish the protectors of rampant drug trafficking in the area.

The NPA said it found a sachet of shabu in the possession of Ongachen.

In a video released by the NPA on August 22, Ongachen publicly apologized for “keeping” a sachet of shabu after a test buy operation conducted by law enforcement officers. But Ongachen said he is not a drug user, nor he is a protector of the illegal trade.

Ongachen told reporters that he is aware of the problems of illegal drugs in the municipality. He said he was assigned to Governor Generoso on August 25, 2015.

Meanwhile, Grande was captured by the NPAs on June 19 in Bagumbayan, Lupon, Dava Oriental. The NPA said he was captured due to reports that “he regularly received payoffs from illegal gambling in the area.”

“As a member of the reactionary police force, POW Grande has admitted to have mauled, harassed and intimidated at gunpoint several civilians in Banay-banay. Furthermore, along with the whole of the PNP in Banay-banay, he regularly received payoffs from illegal gambling in the area,” Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesperson of the NPA in Southern Mindanao said in a statement.

In a video also released by the NPA’s on August 18, Grande apologized for the violation he has committed.

On August 19, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines ordered the release of the two prisoners of war as a goodwill gesture for the formal talks between the NDF and the government. (davaotoday.com)