A COUPLE who claimed they were active members of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA) yielded to the Army’s 58th Infantry Battalion in Claveria town in Misamis Oriental, a military official said Thursday.
Army’s 4th Infantry Division public affairs chief Captain Al Anthony Pueblas identified the surrenderees only by their aliases: Santos and Minda.
Pueblas said the surrenderees admitted during the interview that intolerable starvation, fatigue, and discrimination within their group forced the couple to surrender.
The surrender was made through the effort of 58IB and the Salay municipal police bringing along an AK47 rifle on June 30, 2020, said Pueblas.
He said both were members of Platoon Cherry Mobile, Guerilla Front (GF) Huawei, Sub-regional Committee 1 (SRC1).
“They seek help and hand over the NPA issued AK47 rifle,” said Pueblas, adding that alias Minda, the wife of Santos, also sought help from the barangay local government unit of Salay, Misamis Oriental.
The surrender of the two was the result of the relentless focused military operations made by the 4ID,” said Pueblas.
He said to degrade the remaining force of threat groups who continued to spoil peace in Northern Mindanao and the Caraga region.
“They turned themselves into authorities after getting tired of life on-the-run with the communist group,” Pueblas said.
Pueblas added that because of hardships and in-fighting between and among themselves, he decided to leave the organization. His wife Minda joined him in his surrender.
Late last month, 3 NPA rebels were also surrendered to 58IB, according to Pueblas.
“With the support of our local government in the area through the TF-ELCAC, we are hoping that more NPA rebels will surrender and time will come that these long years of futile armed struggle will perish,” said 4ID commander Major General Andres Centino.
Centino said the continuous efforts of the TF-ELCAC in reaching out to NPA members for their surrender paved the way to the couple’s reuniting with their families.
“We are happy that you have decided to abandon the armed struggle,” said 58IB commander Lt. Col. Ricky L Canatoy.
Canatoy said they will continue to do their mandated task to ensure that they bring the government closer to the people through the “Whole of the Nation approach.”
We are hoping that the remaining members of the NPA will see the opportunity that the government is offering, Canatoy said.
“The Army will not hesitate and is always ready to use its force against threat groups who will continue to go against the government,” said Canatoy.
58IB assistant civil-military 2nd Lieutenant Eunice D. Lata-an said the couple will enroll in the government’s enhanced comprehensive local integration program (E-CLIP) to prepare them as they go back to their community.
Lata-an said our commander (Lt. Col. Canatoy) called on other NPA members who are still in the mountains to return to the folds of the law so they could avail of the government’s various livelihood programs. (Ben Balce)
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
