A high-ranking leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) has surrendered to authorities in Davao de Oro because of the communist group’s “dwindling” strength and influence in the province, the military revealed on Tuesday.
The rebel-returnee, identified only as alias “Bart,” vice commander of the NPA in the northern boundary of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental, yielded to the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) at Barangay Cabinuangan in New Bataan town on Monday.
Lt. Col. Ezra Balagtey, Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) spokesperson, said Bart was forced to leave the group following the surrender of his 25 fellow communist rebels since 2019.
“[He] decided to leave the group because almost all of their members have surrendered or went into hiding because of hardship and [being] always on the run,” Balagtey said.
The predicament of Bart’s group resulted in the loss of their mass bases and contacts, making their operations and daily lives even more difficult.
According to Balagtey, Bart also told the military the NPA’s current plans to remedy the weakening strength of its commands.
“The NPA formations are forced to merge because of the cascade of surrenderers,” Balagtey said.
The last straw that broke the camel’s back for Bart was when his own wife, alias Joy, deputy commander of NPA’s Pulang Bagani Command in the same province, also surrendered to the local government unit of Davao de Oro on Jan. 20.
Balagtey hopes that the surrender of the husband and wife rebels will inspire others to lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law.
The military spokesperson added that the two were undergoing custodial and stress debriefing prior to their enrollment in the government’s E-CLIP or Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program where they will receive financial and livelihood aid to start a new life.
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