4 NPA rebels yield in Sarangani, DavOcc

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Frustrated with the “uncertainty of their cause,” four more members of the New People’s Army (NPA) surrendered to government troops in Sarangani and Davao Occidental provinces.

Col. Marion Angcao, commander of the Army’s 73rd Infantry Battalion (73IB), said in a report released on Friday morning the rebels yielded voluntarily along with their firearms in Malapatan, Sarangani and in Malita, Davao Occidental last weekend.

Angcao said two of the returnees, who were identified only as alias Klawag and alias Rebreb, surrendered to the 73IB during a field operation in Barangay Upper Suyan, Malapatan on January 19.

The two, who were listed as members of the NPA’s Front 71, handed over an M16 Armalite rifle and a caliber .38 pistol, he said.

On January 20, Angcao said two more rebels identified as alias Jason and alias Rusi, yielded to the Delta Company of the 73IB in Barangay Little Baguio, Malita town.

He said the two, who were residents of Barangay Kihan in Malapatan, surrendered a Carbine rifle and caliber .357 pistol.

One of the returnees, alias Jason, said they decided to yield as they were already feeling "uncertain" about their situation in the mountains.

Jason said the leaders of their former unit had promised various support and assistance to their families, but these never materialized.

“All we experienced were hardships, hunger, and fear," he said.

Angcao credited the surrender of the four rebels to the troops' intensive security operations and collaboration with barangays officials in the area.

Brig. Gen. Roberto Ancan, commander of the Army’s 1002nd Brigade, urged other NPA rebels in the area to surrender and avail of the government’s livelihood assistance programs.

“The continuous armed struggle will only bring death, misery, anger,, and poverty. The people of Sarangani deserve to have a peaceful environment,” Ancan said.

The United States and the European Union have declared the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization. (PNA)