MANILA--Unremitting military pressure and development projects brought about by Internal Peace and Security Program "Bayanihan" has so far caused the surrender of 109 New People's Army (NPA) fighters operating in the Eastern Mindanao Command area-of-operations for the first five and half months of 2015. "Bayanihan" is the strategy where development efforts are being used to deny the rebels a support base in the countryside. "Based on record, a total of 109 NPA members have surrendered to different military units of the AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command since January 1, 2015 (up to June 9)," Eastern Mindanao Command public affairs office chief Capt. Alberto Caber said. He also said that this resulted in the surrender of 13 high-powered firearms and seven low-powered ones, while military offensives have resulted in the capture of 70 high-powered weapons and 17 low-powered guns for the first six months of the year. Caber said more rebel surrenderees are expected to surface before the end of the year. pna