4 NPA 'amazons' surrender in Bukidnon

MANOLO FORTICH, Bukidnon -- Four women officers of the New People’s Army (NPA) have surrendered to the Army's 1st Special Forces Battalion (SFBn) in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon from January to the present.

In a statement Thursday, the Army's 4th Infantry Division (ID), identified the NPA surrenderers as Lorena Micabalo, 24, a political officer who surrendered on February 14; Gloria Jandaya, 63, a staff member of the NPA's regional urban committee who yielded on February 11;

Gleceria Balangiao, 34, a liaison staff of the NPA's regional urban committee and daughter of Gloria Jandaya, who surrendered on February 11; and Jackielyn Ann Elaco, 34, a finance officer and political instructor who surrendered on January 21.

According to the 4th ID, Elaco turned in assorted medical and dental kits, and medicines that she claimed were used to treat injured NPA members. She also surrendered cellphones and a tablet that are now undergoing "contents forensics and analysis."

The four were members of the NPA's sub-regional committee 4, North Central Mindanao regional command, whose task was to radicalize communities and recruit members to the rebel group, the 4th ID said.

Col. Edgardo de Leon, commander of the Army's 403rd Brigade, lauded Lt. Col. Sergio Macarandan, commander of 1st SFBn, for "gaining the trust of the people in the communities.”

“The four ladies who surrendered are all victims of the CPP-NPA terrorists' exploitation. That is why they deserve to receive assistance from the government," de Leon said. CPP stands for the Communist Party of the Philippines.

"Their being among the marginalized sector of our society was exploited by CPP-NPA cadres who posed as ‘poverty liberators’ promising better living conditions, but in reality, brought them into the armed terrorist movement," he added.

Brig. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, 4th ID commander, commended the troops "for painstakingly reaching out and convincing the four individuals to return to the fold of the law and enroll in the E-CLIP program."

Gacal was referring to the Enhanced Comprehensive Localized Integration Program (E-CLIP), the government's strategic flagship program to achieve its peace and development agenda.

"They (four surrenderers) were actually rescued by the soldiers and the civilians who acted as conduits. We thank our peace partners for believing, trusting, and joining our call for a united effort to foster peace in our communities," he added. (PNA)