Pregnant NPA leader surrenders in Davao Oriental

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 11, 2021): Pregnant NPA leader surrenders in Davao Oriental (By Che Palicte)

MEDICAL CHECK-UP. Ranking communist leader Jocy Villaruel Papasin, alias Domai, the secretary of the New People's Army's Weakened Guerrilla Front (WGF) 18, Sub-Regional Committee 2 (SRC2) Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC), undergoes a medical check-up after surrendering to the 66th Infantry Battalion on November 7, following a clash by her group with military troopers in Barangay Calapagan, Lupon, Davao Oriental. It was found out during the check-up that she was five months pregnant. (Photo courtesy of 701B)

A ranking pregnant leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Davao Oriental has surrendered to the military following a recent clash in Lupon, Davao Oriental, an Army official here said Thursday.

In an interview, Capt. Mark Tito, the spokesperson of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division (10ID), said the surrenderer, Jocy Villaruel Papasin alias Domai, was the secretary of the Weakened Guerilla Front (WGF) 18, Sub-Regional Committee 2 (SRC2) Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC).

Tito said Domai's group clashed with troopers of the Army’s 66th Infantry Battalion (IB) under the 701st Infantry Brigade (Bde) in Sitio Yauri, Barangay Calapagan, Lupon on November 7, which later resulted in communist terrorists scampering to various directions and abandoning her.

“She (Domai) voluntarily surrendered. She did not fight back and was left behind by her comrades,” he told the Philippine News Agency.

Domai was immediately given first aid by the troops and subsequently moved to Mati City for further medical evaluation where she was found to be pregnant.

Recovered from the encounter site were an M653 rifle loaded with 15 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, an improvised 12-gauge shotgun, two fully loaded magazines for Glock pistol, and personal belongings.

Tito said the surrender of Domai was cited as one of the accomplishments of the National Task Force in Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in destroying NPA formations in Davao Oriental.

He added that Domai revealed that she always thought about surrendering due to the difficulties and physical exhaustion they experienced from unrelenting government troops’ operations, which made it impossible for them to hide among the masses who had previously supported them.

“The loss of their mass base’s support is also one of her reason for going back to the folds of the law. She is now under the custody of the 66IB that is now processing her requirements to avail of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP),” Tito said.

Col. Oliver Maquiling, the 701Bde commander, said the surrender of Domai was a major setback for the armed rebel group.

“The sharp, timely, and purposive civil-military operations made the WGF 18 lose its balance in areas where they are hiding,” he said.

Meanwhile, Maj. General Ernesto Torres Jr., the 10ID commander, lauded the troops for the newest achievement and attributed its success to the NTF- ELCAC, local officials, and the people.

“Ka Domai mirrors the present collective general state of the confronted communist terrorist threat organizations within the 10ID area of responsibility where all are on the verge of defeat, their members ready to give up at any moment,” he said.

The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and separate part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1159444