DND chief said communist rebels engaged in recruitment during ceasefire Tribal leaders told him how NPA fighters would go and recruit in their villages He said soldiers could do nothing to stop the rebels’ recruitment drive He said there are now an estimated 5,000 communist rebels across PH MANILA, Philippines – They took advantage of the peace talks. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had this to say about the New People’s Army as he scored them for exploiting the lull in the fighting to bolster their ranks. “Noong nag-ceasefire tayo, meron silang surge ng mga recruitment [When we had a ceasefire, they had a surge of recruits]. That’s what we heard from our people on the ground,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted him as saying. Lorenzana said he was told by tribal leaders in the Davao region, especially in Davao Oriental, how communist rebels would come to their villages to recruit. “Yes, they use that. It is true. It was proven in Davao, in Davao Oriental, talagang ganoon ang ginawa nila [that’s really what they’re doing],” he said. “We get a lot of text from the tribal leaders saying ‘Nandito iniipon kami in the guise of talking about the peace process’, [...]