LOST CAUSE. Lt. Col. Neil Roldan, commander of the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion, receives an M14 rifle from “Ka Raffy” (right), a member of the communist New People’s Army (NPA), who surrendered in Matalam, North Cotabato on Sunday (Jan. 19, 2020). The surrenderer said he decided to yield after realizing that the NPA is fighting a futile cause. (Photo courtesy of 7IB)
An armed member of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) operating in North Cotabato decided to abandon his comrades and surrendered to military authorities Sunday.
Quoting a report from the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion (7IB), Brig. Gen. Roberto Capulong, commander of the Army’s 602nd Brigade, identified the surrenderer only as “Ka Raffy”, who also turned in his M14 rifle.
He belongs to an indigenous people community in Matalam, North Cotabato and operating under the NPA Guerilla Front 53 (GF53) of the Southern Mindanao Regional Party Committee (SMRC).
He told the military that he decided to abandon the movement after realizing they were fighting a lost cause.
“Raffy also told Army personnel on the ground that many of his colleagues have already surrendered to authorities and are now living normal lives,” Capulong said.
On Sunday, Raffy quietly left his group in an upland village in Matalam and showed up at an Army base manned by soldiers from the 7IB.
The Army unit welcomed him with open arms.
Like his companions who earlier surrendered, Raffy will be enrolled in the Expanded Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) and be given livelihood assistance.
The NPA, together with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), is listed as a terrorist organization by the governments of the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1091338
Quoting a report from the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion (7IB), Brig. Gen. Roberto Capulong, commander of the Army’s 602nd Brigade, identified the surrenderer only as “Ka Raffy”, who also turned in his M14 rifle.
He belongs to an indigenous people community in Matalam, North Cotabato and operating under the NPA Guerilla Front 53 (GF53) of the Southern Mindanao Regional Party Committee (SMRC).
He told the military that he decided to abandon the movement after realizing they were fighting a lost cause.
“Raffy also told Army personnel on the ground that many of his colleagues have already surrendered to authorities and are now living normal lives,” Capulong said.
On Sunday, Raffy quietly left his group in an upland village in Matalam and showed up at an Army base manned by soldiers from the 7IB.
The Army unit welcomed him with open arms.
Like his companions who earlier surrendered, Raffy will be enrolled in the Expanded Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) and be given livelihood assistance.
The NPA, together with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), is listed as a terrorist organization by the governments of the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1091338
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