MANILA: The Philippine government on Sunday said it would pay 50,000 ($1,063) for every M-16 assault rifle surrendered by a communist insurgent who abandoned the long-running rebellion.

The money would be on top of another 70,000 pesos in cash and livelihood assistance to be extended to any New People’s Army (NPA) rebel turning over a new leaf, said the government’s chief peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon.

“The amount is more than enough for a former rebel to start his or her own small business,” Esperon said in a statement.

The NPA is the armed unit of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969.

The government estimates the NPA force at about 5,000 at present, down from more than 26,000 in the 1980s, following the collapse of communism worldwide and defeats on the battlefield.

—AFP