BRIGHT FUTURE. Pregnant New People’s Army rebel Charmaine Ravelo Coquilla (right) undergoes a medical check-up and interview after she surrendered to the Army’s 36th Infantry Battalion in Butuan City on June 14, 2022. Coquilla decided to leave the communist NPA group due to disillusionment and to provide a good future for her unborn child. (Photo courtesy of 36IB)
BUTUAN CITY – A pregnant New People’s Army (NPA) combatant recently surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 36th Infantry Battalion (IB) here.
In a statement Tuesday, 36IB said a disillusioned Charmaine Ravelo Coquilla yielded to their unit on June 14.
Coquilla was promised by the communist NPA group an opportunity to earn for her family but this was not fulfilled, the military unit said.
“Coquilla was not allowed to leave as she was threatened with stories of torture for those members who would escape from the movement,” 36IB said.
“Coquilla is left pregnant by her partner Dexter Umba who was killed in an encounter last April 14, 2022,” 36IB said.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Michael Rey Reuyan, the 38IB commander, lauded Coquilla's decision to return to normal life.
“The right to live peacefully is a right of every human being. There is no direction in joining the false and forced propaganda of the NPA, especially to the unborn,” Reuyan said.
Coquilla, who is now under the care of the 36IB, will be enrolled in the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program of the government.
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 has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973. (PNA)
