BUTUAN CITY: Four New People’s Army (NPA) rebel surrendered Thursday to the mayor of Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte.
In a statement, the Las Nieves municipal information office (MIO) said the surrenderers presented themselves to Mayor Karen Rosales and the local police.
They turned over four firearms – two AK-47 rifles and two .38-caliber revolvers.
The MIO identified one of the surrenderers as Cesar Corilla, a squad leader of the NPA Platoon 2, Sub-Regional Sentro De Grabidad Sagay, Sub-Regional Committee 3 of the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee.
The other three surrenderers, who are all females, are identified only as “Dindin”, “Jamby”, and “Nicky”.
Both “Jamby” and “Nicky” are pregnant during their surrender. “Dindin” served as an organizer of different farmers groups under the NPA’s underground mass organization in the area.
During their conference with the mayor, Dindin narrated the hardships they had experienced, especially during the full implementation of Executive Order No. 70 (EO 70).
EO 70 mandates the whole-of-nation approach to end the local communist armed conflict in the countryside.
“I want to go home and be with my children. What is important for me now is the future of my children,” Dindin was quoted as saying by the MIO.
As initial support, local officials provided the surrenderers with food packs and assistance through the town’s social welfare office.
“This is the result of our efforts in bringing the government services to the far-flung communities in Las Nieves,” Rosales said.
The surrenderers were immediately handed over to the Army’s 23rd Infantry Battalion for processing and enrollment in the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.
Source: Philippines News Agency