Another ranking NPA leader yields in MisOcc

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 9, 2020): Another ranking NPA leader yields in MisOcc (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)

Another ranking New People’s Army (NPA) leader has surrendered due to the relentless military operations against them in Misamis Occidental, officials said Monday.

Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), identified the NPA surrenderer as Mary Grace Tamapad Buhawi, who surrendered Saturday afternoon to the troops of the 10th Infantry Battalion in Sinacaban, Misamis Occidental.

Vinluan said Buhawi, 23, was the platoon leader for Guerrilla Front Sendong of the NPA’s Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee.

Buhawi, according to Vinluan, surrendered following the series of combat operations that made it difficult for her and her team to move from one place to the other.

“We were starving because we have limited food supply, and we are experiencing a lot of hardships moving from one place to another,” Buhawi was quoted as saying by the military official in vernacular.

Maj. Gen. Generoso Ponio, Joint Task Force ZamPelan (Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao Provinces) commander, said the military continues to welcome more NPA surrenderers "who signify intent to lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law."

Buhawi is the second-ranking NPA leader who surrendered in Misamis Occidental this month.

On Nov. 4, 24-year-old Cirilo Biosa Sumibay, an NPA team leader, also surrendered to military authorities in the province.

“We believe that it is always best that the members of the different terrorist groups are neutralized through surrender and without firing a single bullet,” Vinluan said as he commended the Joint Task Force Zampelan for the accomplishment.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1121196