A female member of the New People’s Army (NPA) who admitted participation in an encounter in early April in Balayong,
Lt. Col. Harry Pascua, 79th IB commander, identified the woman as Maribeth Lascunia, alias Raylin and Antonina, an alleged member of the PG Squad 1, alternate PG AYP Team and Head Technical of the NPA’s South East Front of the Komiteng Rehiyon Negros (SEF-KRN).
She is the daughter of Jury Lascunia alias Rebas, a former NPA member assigned to the PG Squad 2 and VSL Squad 1 SEF-KRN who surrendered to the same Army battalion last July 2013.
During a press conference Monday morning at the battalion headquarters in the town of Siaton, about an hour’s drive south of this capital, Army authorities disclosed that the “amazon” or female fighter was wounded during the encounter last April 3 and sought refuge and rested overnight at a house of a local resident of Sitio Baliwon in Barangay Balayong, Pamplona.
The next day, Army troops arrived at the said house where she stayed and convinced her to surrender. They offered medication for her wounded left arm. A barangay official of Balayong was also present at the time to assure her of proper treatment and that no harm will come to her.
Maribeth Lascunia alias Raylin then agreed to go to the house of the barangay official where she showered and changed clothes before she left with the Army authorities to Sibulan where an interview took place.
Afterwards, she was brought to the battalion headquarters in Siaton on April 4 where she voluntarily stayed there although her presence at the Army camp was kept in the dark as requested by her father for security reasons, according to Lt. Col. Pascua.
The father of Maribeth, Jury Lascunia, was informed through a letter on April 5 that she was at the battalion headquarters. It was timely as he had a scheduled interview the next day with Ms. Alice Legarde of the provincial Social Welfare and Development Office.
The father expressed joy and gratitude after seeing his daughter undergoing treatment at the Army camp and requested that she stay there further for safekeeping.
According to Lt. Col. Pascua, it was the father’s request that prevented the Army from disclosing information that a wounded “amazon” was captured after the encounter.
Both have been cooperative with government authorities as they intimated their desire to avail of the government programs for rebel returnees.
Present during the press conference were Governor Roel Degamo, Dr. Jess Cañete of the Commission on Human Rights, Brig. Gen. Francisco Patrimonio, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade and Ms. Legarde of the provincial DSWD.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=636640
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