NEW LIFE. Couple Bart and Joy, former members of the communist New People's Army, receive financial assistance from Davao de Oro Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy (extreme left) on Monday (February 10, 2020). With them is Lt. Col. Roman Mabborang, commander of the Army's 66th Infantry Battalion. (Photo courtesy of Eastmincom)
DAVAO CITY – A commander of the New People’s Army (NPA) surrendered to Davao de Oro's Provincial Task Force-Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) on Monday in Barangay Cabinuangan, New Bataan town.
In a statement, Lt. Col. Ezra Balagtey, Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) spokesperson, identified the surrenderer only as "Bart", a former vice commander of the NPA operating in the northern boundary of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental.
Balagtey said Bart decided to leave the communist rebel movement after many of his colleagues had already surrendered to the government while others have gone into hiding because of the hardship experienced in the mountains.
“He was tired of always being on the run, brought about by the loss of their former mass bases and contacts,” he said.
“He also revealed that NPA formations are forced to merge because of the cascade of surrender,” he added.
He said Bart's surrender came after his wife, identified only as Joy, yielded to authorities last month in Brgy. Panansalan, Compostela town.
According to the surrenderer, Balagtey said the former rebel is the 26th member of their unit to have surrendered to the government.
The Army official said both Bart and his wife are now undergoing custodial and stress debriefing prior to their enrollment to the government's Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1093574
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