NPA couple surrenders, reunites with son in NegOr

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 10, 2022): NPA couple surrenders, reunites with son in NegOr (By Mary Judaline Partlow)

REUNITED. Two self-confessed members of the New People's Army in southern Negros Oriental surrender to the police and military on Friday (June 10, 2022). They were reunited with their almost two-year-old son, whom they had not seen since their separation a month after being born. (Photo by Judy Flores Partlow)

Two confessed members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) on Friday voluntarily surrendered to police and military authorities in the southern town of Santa Catalina in Negros Oriental.

The couple's surrender was facilitated by Mayor Peve Ligan, to whom a feeler was sent earlier by a relative of the male rebel.

Ricky A. dela Cruz, 36, alias Yago/Wilcross/Jolan/Gary/Hadji/Cline and Cherry Anne Rebanuel alias Yassy/Liezel/Jillian, 23, both members of the South East Front (SEF) of Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor (KR-NCBS), told the Philippine News Agency they decided to surrender due to the “hardships and a difficult life” in the underground movement, and not having the freedom to be with their child.

Following their surrender, they were reunited with their one-year and 10-month-old son, “Dodong” who was separated from them a month after being born.

“I gave birth to Dodong at a house of a mass-based supporter in the mountains, and after a month, the baby was brought to my husband’s sister, who took care of him until this day,” Rebanuel said in Cebuano.

The boy was initially reluctant to go near his parents and called the aunt who raised him “mama”.

“I am happy to see my son but at the same time I am sad that he does not recognize me at all and I really want to cry,” Rebanuel said. She believes, though, that in due time, the boy will be able to adjust to being around her and her partner.

Dela Cruz said he has been with the CPP-NPA’s South East Front for 17 years while Rebanuel joined the same guerilla front about five years ago.

Mutual decision

They said it was their mutual decision to leave the movement and surrender to the authorities because they realized the value of freedom, despite the problems being faced by the country today, such as corruption.

"Corruption is everywhere, regardless of who is sitting as the president of the country, but if one just learns to toil and earn his keep, one can still survive the hardships compared to what we had to live with while in the NPA," Dela Cruz said in Cebuano.

When he first joined the movement in 2004, he said he went through a lot of processes until he became a “red fighter” of the SEF, which was still back then a “larangan gerilya” or guerilla front.

The guerilla front’s coverage area was Siaton, Sta. Catalina, Pamplona, Amlan, San Jose, and Sibulan, he said, adding that in recent years, their numbers dwindled as they found it hard to recruit new members.

Dela Cruz reaffirmed what the military has been saying that the SEF is now a dismantled guerilla front with only remnants operating in the area.

To be considered a “larangan”, the group would need 100 or more members of the “hukbo”, but now, there are only about 30 or even fewer that were left, he said.

Dela Cruz said during the time that he left the SEF, he was a political instructor of the only platoon left.

“I am the last local member who is familiar with the area, the terrain, and the people, as the others are not from here but from Negros Occidental,” he said in Cebuano.

He also said the SEF is attempting to again undertake recruitment activities “but I do not think that is possible now because many people no longer believe in them.”

For her part, Rebanuel said while she considered herself as an “amazona” or female fighter, she was also engaged in propaganda work, assigned briefly as finance and logistics officer, and as “giyang pampulitika” or political officer.

Both of them were “married” in the underground movement by ranking officials but they understood that the marriage is not valid and legitimate.

Aid for former rebels

Meanwhile, police and military authorities are now facilitating their enrollment in the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) for former rebels.

1Lt. Pearl Rogem Lanuza, the Civil-Military Operations Officer of the 11th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, said the couple will undergo profiling before they can be enrolled in the program and avail of its benefits, such as cash assistance.

Dela Cruz turned over a .45-caliber firearm with a defaced serial number, a magazine, and eight rounds of live ammunition of the same caliber.

Capt. Jade Basingao, commander of the 705th Maneuver Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 7 (RMFB7), said the couple will be temporarily housed at a safe place until more suitable accommodation can be found for them.

Lanuza, representing 11IB commander Col. Roderick Salayo, and Basingao, representing RMFB7 commander Lt. Col. Ronnan Claravall, received the couple during their formal surrender.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, 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 inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1176416