MANILA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Over 2,200 leftist rebels and their supporters have so far surrendered to the government this year, the Philippine military said on Monday.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said in a statement that 2,263 New People's Army (NPA) rebels and their supporters have yielded to the government authorities in the first two months of this year, and 90 percent of them are from Davao region.
Of the 2,263, 607 are regular members while 1,656 are supporters, according to the statement.
The military said the big number of those that surrendered is a result of the "combined focused military operations, intelligence efforts, civil-military operation, re-integration efforts and peace and development programs of the AFP, the PNP (Philippine National Police), and local government units."
The NPA has been staging a leftist insurgency in 60 Philippine provinces since 1969, which have resulted in over 40,000 deaths.
