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MANILA: Former members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) belied claims that government forces tortured and maltreated former communist rebels who went back to the fold of the law.

During the “Pros and Cons” television show aired on Sunday, Ivylyn Corpin alias Ka Ivy, said government security forces are sincere in their commitment to achieving lasting peace as they encouraged more rebels to surrender.

Corpin added surrenderers are actually getting various benefits from the government when they decide to quit the armed struggle.

She said personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are assisting former rebels “to get back on their feet” and live the life they used to have.

“The government has changed the current system for the common of the Filipino citizens,” she added.

Corpin said she was a student activist from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) when she joined the communist armed movement.

She said a series of recruitment processes were organised by the CPP-NPA’s legal front organisations to agitate more youth to join their cause.

These recruitment schemes include rallies, mass mobilisation and community immersions, eventually pushing the youth to join movement, Corpin said.

Meanwhile, Rey Christian Sabado alias “Chan-chan,” also a former NPA rebel, said the communist group, through its legal front organisations, is manoeuvring the mindset of the youth to recruit more members.

Sabado said the front groups made him believed that he should protect the democratic interest of the youth by participating in militant activities.

Corpin and Sabado said at first, they were not aware of such recruitment schemes.

Sabado said he became a member of the Kabataang Makabayan, an underground mass organisation that he said directly supports the communist armed movement.

He said there is a systematic recruitment process being done within the CPP-NPA-National Democratic Front (NDF).

The former NPA members urged various student activists to withdraw their support to the alleged legal front organisations of the CPP-NPA-NDF, saying “they will not gain something good from joining this unreasonable cause.”

“To individuals who are being encouraged by the CPP-NPA-NDF or current members of these legal-front organisations, withdraw your support. If you are still in the recruitment process, don’t entertain them. The government will not abandon us because we have proven that—as former rebels, it’s not true that those surrenderers were tortured, harmed, beaten, and executed,” Corpin said.

Meanwhile, Sabado urged students who are still part of the NPA’s legal front groups “not to waste their skills, talents, and intellects” by engaging themselves with the communist insurgency.

“May we learn lessons from our experiences with Ka Ivy, Ka Amihan and those other former rebels who are testifying to the real intentions of the CPP-NPA-NDF along with their legal front organisations,” said Sabado. The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.