SURRENDER. A 17-year-old female member of New People's Army, who voluntarily surrendered last month. She was presented to the media in a press briefing for the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict Region 3 held at the Hiyas ng Bulakan Convention Center in Malolos City, Bulacan on Wednesday (October 9, 2019.) (PNA photo by Manny Balbin)
CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan -- A 17-year-old female member of the New People’s Army (NPA) surrendered to authorities last month, citing the neglect she felt from the leftist group when she gave birth.
“Nung nagkaanak po ako pakiwari ko ay tinalikuran na ako ng samahan kaya po sumuko na lang ako para sa anak ko (When I gave birth, I felt abandoned by the organization that is why I decided to surrender for the sake of my child),” the female rebel, a member of the NPA-Bulacan/Narciso Antaso Aramil Command, said on Wednesday.
She was presented to the media during a press briefing of the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) Region 3 (Central Luzon) held at the Hiyas ng Bulakan Convention Center here.
She admitted to being a member of the rebel group since 2016 and was included in the planning as to who and where the group will attack in the area.
Police Col. Chito Bersaluna, Bulacan police provincial director said, the young NPA member, identified only through her aliases “Supremo/ LJ/ Lovely", is a resident of Barangay Pulong Gubat in Balagtas, Bulacan.
"She voluntarily surrendered to police authorities on September 12, 2019, as she was forced to leave the group because she is having a hard time on her current post-partum condition," Bersaluna said.
A day after she surrendered, he said the rebel, with her baby boy, was turned over by authorities to the Office of the Municipal Social Welfare Development (MSWD)-Pandi, Bulacan headed by M. Cecilia Santiago.
Meanwhile, the RTF-ELCAC Central Luzon, hosted by Bulacan Police Provincial Office (BPPO), also awarded different police provincial officers in the region for their arrest of one and the surrender of 12 NPA members as well as the recovery of assorted firearms and explosives.
The recipients of the awards were the police provincial offices of Bulacan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, and Zambales.
“Bulacan police is stern on its intensified campaign against insurgency and terrorism to deter the youths from falling victims of terrorism and ensure the provision of social services, employment opportunities and improved quality of life in communities that have been experiencing or are vulnerable to armed communist conflict,” Bersaluna said.
The presentation of the female NPA rebel and awards to the deserving police provincial offices were witnessed by officials of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity and Cabinet Officer on Regional Cabinet Officer for Regional Development Security (CORDS), Lt. Gen. Ramiro Manuel Rey, commander of Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom); Bulacan Gov. Daniel R. Fernando; Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda, and Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane. (PNA)
