By Gideon C. Corgue
GUIPOS,
Zamboanga del Sur – At least three (3) regular members of the New
People’s Army from the Natarang Guerilla ng Kara (NG-KARA) of the Western
Mindanao Regional Party Committee (WMRPC) on Saturday, September 5, decided to return
to the folds of the lawand live normal lives.
The
rebel returnees were identified as ErmeElnas, alias “James,”22 years old, a member
of SandatahangYunitPampropaganda;Anselma Perez Quijano, alias “Jelly,” 26 ; and
Lodovico Jordan Nadal Jr.alias
“Jay-Ar,” 26,voluntarily surrendered to Lt.Col. Alvin Luzon, commanding officer of the 53rd Infantry Battalion at its headquarters at Camp Sabido, this municipality.
“Jay-Ar,” 26,voluntarily surrendered to Lt.Col. Alvin Luzon, commanding officer of the 53rd Infantry Battalion at its headquarters at Camp Sabido, this municipality.
Elnas
yielded KG45 sub-machinegun with defaced
serial number and Quijano a caliber 45 pistol 1911-A1 with serial number 973124
to Col. Luzon.
The
military chief said based on the initial debriefing, the sustained combat
operation of government forces and the dwindling mass support were the reasons
for their surrender.
Luzon
said their successful surrender was made
possible through the joint efforts of the intelligence platoon of 53rd
IB; Special Mission Platoon of 1st Military Intelligence Battalion
and Police Intelligence Branch of
Zamboanga del Sur Police Provincial Office.
He
said a total of 19 former NPA rebels have surrendered to the government.
Five
(5) former NPA rebels surrendered to the headquarters on May 25, another eight
(8) rebels surrendered in the evening of August 11, and three (3) surrendered
during the declaration of Zamboanga del Sur as Peaceful and Ready for Further
Development province on August 12, at the Amusement and Events Center,
Provincial Capitol compound where the former rebels were given P15,000 each
under the national government’s Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP).
Luzon said the
gradual increase of NPA rebels who surrendered to the government arethe fruits
and success of the AFP’s Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan
campaign.
He is thankful to
our brothers who have returned to the folds of the lawand
abandoned the armed movement.
“In a span of just about 3 months, we
were able to convince NPA rebels to surrender to the government,” Luzon happily
announced.
“With the significant increase of number of surenderees this year, I am optimistic that more NPA rebels will return to the folds of the government,” Luzon concluded.
