DAVAO DE ORO, Aug. 26 (PIA) - - Ang ako lang pangandoy sa una nga makahuman ko sa akong pag eskwela ug makatarbaho para makatabang sa akong pamilya. Pero wala nako natuman na kay nalinla man ko sa kalihukan. (My dreams then is to finish my schooling, and get a job to help my family. But I did not achieved that because I was deceived by the movement)
His dreams then were simple but all have gone to waste as he was deceived to join the New People’s Army in 2015.
Alias Ading was 16 when he was convinced to participate in the rallies within the region, and eventually, join the communist armed movement. He was in his second year in high school at that time.
“Second year high school ko, naka undang ko tungod kay nalinya man ko nila, nisampa ko sa rebolusyonaryong kalihukan,” he said. (Second year in high school was when I stopped (going to school) because I joined them – the revolutionary movement.)
Ading recalled that at a young age, the communist group taught him the doctrines of the movement, including branding President Rodrigo Duterte as a fascist.
He was also trained to go to and survive in a war; then he was assigned for an operation.
“Paghuman sa operasyon mga unom ka bulan, nananghid ko na mouli sa among balay kay motiwas ko og eskwela. Apan dili na daw ko pwede moulli kay tungod patyon daw ko sa mga sundalo,” he said. (After the operation of six months, I asked permission to go home and continue my studies. But I was told that I cannot go home because I will be killed by the military.)
Because of that propaganda, he was forced to continue with the NPA; and in 2018, he was designated as the vice commander of the Guerilla Force 25, North Front.
He stayed for five years in the movement, until he found out that the promises of the NPA to him and his families were not realized.
“Pasaligan ko nila na tabangan akong pamilya na padalhan og kwarta bulan-bulan pero wala nila gituman,” he said. (They promised that they will help my family through sending money to them monthly; but they never fulfilled.)
After grueling years of being with the NPA, Ading decided that he had enough of the lies of the NPA, and wished to live a decent, and peaceful life.
Aside from the unfulfilled promises, Ading emphasized that the reasons he surrendered were “walay tarong nga kaon sa kalihukan ug giminingaw nako sa akong pamilya." (there is no proper eating habits in the movement and I missed my family.)
On August 22, he surrendered to the 25th Infantry Battalion carrying with him an M16 rifle, an M653 rifle, and six magazines with 58 ammunitions.
Lieutenant Colonel Asnawi Muti, battalion commander, warmly welcomed the young vice commander and belied some of the statements of the NPA like torturing or killing their rebel-comrades when they surrender.
Muti, however, slammed the communist movement for brainwashing and recruiting minors to be deployed to war, which he said, is a violation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
“They take away these children from their parents to make them revolutionary fighters and build their hatred against the government,” he said.
Ading also revealed that the NPA is in recruiting the youth nowadays because “lagtik pa og hunahuna ug ligon pa ang kalawasan.” (they still have a sharp mind, and a strong body.)
As of now, Ading will be enrolled to the programs under the Oplan Pagbabago Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) including the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP). (PIA11, Michael Uy)
https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1051364
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