MOTHER'S LOVE. Nora Mansumuy-ut (right) hugs his son alias “Ram” tightly at the Camp Panacan Hospital in Davao City on Friday (Oct. 29, 2021) after not seeing him for seven years. Ram left his family to join the New People's Army when he was 15 but got wounded in a recent firefight with government troops. (PNA photo by Che Palicte)
DAVAO CITY – A wounded rebel of the New People's Army (NPA) confined at the Camp Panacan Hospital here on Friday was reunited with his mother whom he has not seen for seven years.
In an emotional encounter, Nora Mansumuy-ut said it was her first time seeing his son, alias “Ram” in seven years and was glad that he was still alive.
“There was a sigh of relief on my part. When he was still in the armed struggle, I cannot focus on my work. I miss him so much,” she said in the vernacular.
Nora narrated that Ram joined the armed struggle at the age of 15.
She added that for seven years, she feared for the life of Ram and often wondered what he was going through at the hands of the communist terrorist group (CTG).
“What if my son was killed in an encounter? These are my thoughts. I fear losing him and won’t be able to see him again,” Nora said.
“I was afraid that if he will die in an encounter, they will bury them without us knowing,” she added.
Ram, the vice commanding officer of Andoy Platoon under the Sub-Regional Guerrilla Unit (SRGU) Sub-Regional Command (SRC) 5, Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC), along with alias Sander, the commanding officer of Basil Platoon, SRGU, SRC5, SMRC, got wounded during an evening encounter with government troops in Barangay Sto. Domingo, San Fernando, Bukidnon on October 24.
Sander sustained gunshot wounds in his head and thigh, while Ram was hit in his thigh and stomach.
Both were immediately treated and given first aid by Army troopers of Charlie Company, 89th Infantry Battalion (89IB) before being evacuated to the 10th Infantry Division (10ID) Station Hospital for further medical attention.
Ram was then transferred to Camp Panacan Hospital in this city, while Sander was sent to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) for surgery.
Lies and deceit
After surviving the incident, Ram thanked the Armed Forces of the Philippines for taking care of him.
“I am very happy right now. When I was still there, I was not able to see my family because they [NPA} would not let me,” he said in the vernacular.
He admitted he used to think of the military as barbaric and brutal, beliefs which the NPA had instilled in him.
“They took care of me. Our cadres told us that when we will surrender, the military will torture us,” Ram said in an interview. “But I was wrong. Instead, they help me live.”
He added that during his stay with the government troops, nobody scolded him or tried hurting him.
“They are different [government troops]. Our leaders threatened us and told us that if we surrender, the military will just hurt us,” he said, adding that was the reason why he hesitated to surrender at first.
“But deep inside me, I wanted to return to the folds of the law,” Ram said.
Ram also said he regretted joining the armed struggle as he observed that only those in the lower ranks were deployed to fight, while the leaders were comfortably resting and just gave instructions.
“I regret it. I said to myself that the leaders are very lucky because they will not get hurt. We are the ones getting most of the bullets,” he said.
Meanwhile, Capt. Mark Tito, the 10ID spokesperson, told the Philippine News Agency in an interview that Ram will undergo the deradicalization process after he recuperates.
The deradicalization process will prevent Ram from being lured back into the communist ideology.
Aside from undergoing the deradicalization process, Ram and Sander will be undergoing skills and livelihood training and will be processed to avail of the government's Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (e-CLIP).
The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The National Democratic Front, meanwhile, has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and separate part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973. (PNA)
