TIRED NPA COMBATANT. Lt. Col. Julius Cesar C. Paulo (right), commander of the Army's 23rd Infantry Battalion, welcomes 'Dansoy,' a political officer of the New People Army's Guerilla Front 4A operating in Agusan del Norte, during the latter's surrender on Thursday (Sept. 17, 2020) at the battalion’s headquarters in Alubijid, Buenavista town. Dansoy also turned over 3 high-power firearms. (Photo courtesy of 23IB)
BUTUAN CITY – After five years of scouring the mountains of Agusan del Norte fighting the government, a ranking leader of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) decided to return to the fold of the law on Thursday (Sept. 17).
Lt. Col. Julius Cesar C. Paulo, commander of the Army's 23rd Infantry Battalion, said the rebel, who goes by the aliases “Dansoy” and “Kevin”, surrendered to their headquarters Thursday afternoon in Barangay Alubihid, Buenavista town.
“Alias Dansoy holds the rank of Political Instructor (PI) of Sentro de Grabidad (SDG), Guerilla Front (GF) 4A of the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC) of the Communist NPA Terrorist (CNT),” Paulo said in a statement Friday.
Upon his surrender, the 40-year-old Dansoy also handed over to the Army three high-power firearms and assorted ammunition, Paulo said.
“He was made to believe by the CNT leaders that abundant life will be given to him and his family. After five years with the movement, he realized that the promises made to him were false and deceptive,” Paulo said.
The 23IB quoted Dansoy as saying that inside the communist rebel movement, he slowly realized that the NPA is engaged in“armed revolution" not to liberate the people--especially the poor--"but to terrorize and drive them more to hunger and poverty”.
Dansoy said he believes the NPA' revolution will not succeed, "as hatred against the movement is now growing among the people, especially those victimized by the group’s alleged terroristic activities".
“There are infightings within the movement, among the leaders and the members. With the pandemic that made the government impose quarantine protocols coupled with the surrender of mass supporters, hardships also struck us inside the movement due to the scarcity of food and other basic needs,” Dansoy was quoted in the dialect as saying.
Paulo assured Dansoy that the government will assist his family through the Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).
He also reiterated his call for the remaining members of GF-4A to "lay down their arms and go back to their family and to the government".
Meanwhile, 1Lt. Roel T. Maglalang, 23IB civil-military operations officer, said Friday that the head of the NPA's Sangay ng Partido sa Lokalidad (SPL) and Militia ng Bayan (MB) in Barangay Durian, Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte, also surrendered on Thursday.
Maglalang identified the surrenderer only as “Rico”, 28, who turned over to the 23IB a motorcycle, a laptop, and other belongings owned by the NPA.
“He revealed to us that for years he served as custodian of gears, equipment, firearms, and personal belongings of the CNT members. He kept these things inside his residence,” Maglalang said.
When Barangay Durian declared the NPA as persona non grata in November last year, “Rico” started to worry about his situation as residents in the area had already condemned the terroristic acts of the rebels.
“The decision of the people to cut their ties with the CNT encouraged Rico to return to the folds of the law and change his life,” Maglalang said. (PNA)
