Family, community support key to weakened NPA in Eastern Visayas

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 26, 2024): Family, community support key to weakened NPA in Eastern Visayas (By Sarwell Meniano)

LEAVING REBELLION BEHIND. The reunion of a former rebel leader and her family is witnessed by the Philippine Army in Borongan City, Eastern Samar in this undated photo. Calls from families and loss of support from communities have encouraged more members of the New People’s Army in Eastern Visayas to abandon the armed struggle. (Photo courtesy of Philippine Army's 802nd Infantry Brigade)

TACLOBAN CITY – Calls from families and loss of support from communities have encouraged more members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Eastern Visayas to abandon the armed struggle.

Realyn Basada, 38, a native of upland Tabay village in Hinabangan, Samar, said the appeal from her mother and absence of provision from previously supportive upland farmers influenced her decision to escape from their lair at about midnight on the third week of November.

“We starved for many days because we did not get any donations from farmers after the military conducted the RCSP (retooled community support program) in previously NPA-influenced areas. We’re not getting any support, unlike in the past,” Basada said in a phone interview.

The RCSP is a strategy that deploys teams tasked to identify issues and concerns in remote communities threatened by the NPA. These issues were raised with the concerned government agencies and local government units for action.

Basada reunited with her mother and three daughters after more than two decades of fighting the government as an officer and combatant of the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

As a member of the NPA for 26 years, she was known by the alias "Lorry," where she held the position of secretary of the sub-regional committee - Sesame under the NPA’s Eastern Visayas regional party committee.

As party secretary, she was in charge of the political and military activities of their members operating in the southern part of Samar and Eastern Samar provinces.

She replaced her husband, Martin Colima alias "Moki,” who died in a gunbattle with government forces in the mountains of Borongan City, Eastern Samar on Jan. 6, 2024.

Recruited as a 13-year-old girl, Realyn was trained not to fear bullets and embrace the life of hiding in the mountains, but her mother’s message awakened her sense of love for her family.

“Our relatives relayed to me about my mother’s video message that she’s old and she doesn’t want to die without seeing me again. My mother assured me that if I surrender, soldiers will not harm me,” she said.

Her mother, Rosa, has been raising Realyn’s three young daughters. In the past 25 years, she only met her mother when she had to leave her babies under their grandmother’s care.

Realyn surrendered to the military on Nov. 24 along with her live-in partner Ruben Magcoro, alias "Ara," the squad leader of the NPA’s Apoy platoon operating in Eastern Samar.

Just like Realyn, Ruben, 22, heard the news that his father also had a Christmas video message for him.

When he was 17 years old in 2020, Ruben was regularly beaten by his father, making him vulnerable to the persuasion of rebels.

“We left our hideout in the mountains near the boundary of Eastern Samar around midnight, and no one noticed us. It took us more than a day of hiking to get to our village in Hinabangan town,” Ruben recalled.

The surrender and death of several NPA fighters in the Samar provinces this year led to the dismantling of the Apoy and Bugsok platoons under the NPA’s Eastern Visayas regional party committee based in the boundaries of Samar and Eastern Samar provinces.

These groups perpetrated numerous atrocities in the region, including the Dec. 13, 2019 ambush in Borongan City that killed a police officer and three civilians, and wounded 12 others, including three minors.

From January to the third week of December, troops engaged in 93 armed encounters across the region.

These operations resulted in the death of 41 communist group members, two of whom are considered high-value individuals and six are key leaders, the recovery of 75 firearms, 48 banned anti-personnel mines, and the seizure of 143 NPA lairs.

The high-value individuals were identified as Ariel Baselga, alias Ariel, the secretary of NPA sub-regional committee (SRC) Emporium who was neutralized on Dec. 2, in a clash in Paco village, Las Navas, Northern Samar; and alias Ruby, secretary of SRC Sesame, who surrendered to the 78th Infantry Battalion on Nov. 29.

In a statement, Maj. Gen. Adonis Ariel Orio, commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division, commended the troops for their outstanding performance.

“These successful operations highlight our unyielding commitment (to) preventing NPA atrocities and maintaining peace in the region,” Orio said. “We also recognize the vital cooperation of partner stakeholders and the civilian population in achieving these milestones.”



Family members reunite with a newly-surrendered rebel leader after 26 years.

Familial love

Lt. Col. Joseph Bugaoan, commanding of the Army’s 78th Infantry Battalion, said the new surrenderers have been staying near the military camp as part of their reintegration process. Their respective local government units also pledged to provide them with livelihood assistance.

He noted that they want to see NPA members reuniting with their families instead of dying in the mountains.

"This reunion demonstrates the transformative power of love, family, and community. Our military remains committed to supporting the reintegration of our FRs, ensuring they receive the support and assistance needed to become productive members of their communities," Bugaoan said.

'Wish upon a star'

The sharing of messages is under the Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade’s “Wish Upon a Star” project, where soldiers record the Christmas wishes of families of active NPA combatants. These messages are shared by members of the local task force to end local communist armed conflict and netizens until they are viewed or heard by the rebels.

Launched in November, the initiative has already encouraged three rebels in Leyte and two from Samar to abandon the armed struggle, according to Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, the brigade commander.

The special project also forms part of the Friends Rescued Engagement through Their Families (FReE Families) program introduced by Vestuir.

To recall, the FReE Families program was launched in Borongan City, Eastern Samar in late 2023 to counteract the hate spread by NPA propagandists and address the danger and anxiety faced by the families of NPA members.

This year, the FReE Families program has already persuaded 45 active NPA combatants to abandon the communist terrorist group and reunite with their families.

"Seeing these families finally come together gives joy in my heart as well, especially when you know that you have played a big part in making this wish come true. So again, I am calling out all remaining NPAs to respond to the calls of your family members and give up the armed struggle, for there is no safe haven for you except in the loving arms of your beloved families, especially this Yuletide season," Vestuir said in a separate interview.

He said these surrenders are not only the result of strategic military operations but also the commitment and perseverance of the team working together towards lasting peace and stability in the region.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1240594