Monday, June 22, 2020

NPA platoon commander, 2 others yield to Army in Northern Mindanao

From the Manila Bulletin (Jun 22, 2020): NPA platoon commander, 2 others yield to Army in Northern Mindanao (By Mike Crismundo)

A New People’s Army (NPA) platoon commander, his wife, and a regular guerilla fighter surrendered to a field unit of the 58th Infantry Battalion (58th IB) in Misamis Oriental over the weekend, said 58th IB Civil Military Operations (CMO) Officer First Lt. Jefferson M. Mariano on Monday.

Their identities were concealed for security reasons.

The NPA platoon commander and his wife, who was a medical officer, decided to yield to the government forces because they wanted to raise their family outside the Communist movement, the 58th IB CMO officer said.

The NPA “propaganda of equal rights to all is just a decisive way to gain more members and supporters,” Mariano said, quoting the initial statement of the couple.

The three NPA rebels surrendered two high-powered firearms, assorted ammunitions, subversive documents and a laptop used in the communist movement.

“We realized that there’s no purpose for our armed struggle, so I suggested to my comrades-in-arms that we go down (from the mountains) and lay down our arms and carve our own future,” added the 58th IB CMO officer, quoting the former NPA Platoon commander.

Meanwhile, 58th IB commanding officer Lt. Col. Ricky L. Canatoy said the series of surrenders among the NPA ranks in Misamis Oriental province and neighboring areas was “a strong indication” that the Communist terrorists movement was “on the brink of collapse.”

Earlier four high-ranking NPA leaders and six other rebels perished in clashes with government troops at the provincial border of Agusan Norte and Misamis Oriental early last month.

The former platoon leader, his wife and the other former NPA regular will be enrolled in the Enhanced Local Integration Program for them to receive benefits for choosing the road to peace,” Canatoy added.

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