BUTUAN CITY – Tired of running and maltreatment at the mountains, a New Peoples’ Army (NPA) couple and his son, a team leader, and another guerilla fighter voluntarily surrendered to the Butuan City Police Office (BCPO) on Wednesday.
BCPO City director Col. Canilo A. Fuentes said that the five NPA regulars surrendered because of their sufferings, limited movement, and hunger caused by the health protocols for community quarantine due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
He said the five active members of the communist movement, including a team leader and a family of three, are set to get government assistance and benefits through the Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
In his flash report to Caraga Police Regional Office 13 (PRO 13) director Brig. Gen. Joselito T. Esquivel, Jr., Fuentes identified the surrenderees as certain “Ka Tabol”, his wife “Ka Rosa” and their son “Leo Corilla”, “Ka Queen,” a supply officer; and “Ka Jiho”, an active team leader and platoon medic.
Their true identities were withheld for their safety.
“The surrenderees were former members of Milisya ng Bayan (MB) under Guerilla Front 4-A (GF4-A) of the CPP-NPA North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC),” Fuentes said.
Upon initial validation, the surrenderees, who yielded firearms including a shotgun and four revolvers with live ammunition, were found to be involved in conducting roadblocks, ambush operations, and burning of various heavy equipment around Agusan del Norte areas, the BCPO city director said.
“They were manipulated by the rebel group who exploited their extreme poverty as they live in depressed areas,” Fuentes said.
“At the moment, we are preparing pertinent requirements for the reintegration of these former rebels back into mainstream society through E-CLIP,” he added. (Mike U. Crismundo)