BUTUAN CITY – Fifty-eight communist New People’s Army rebels and supporters have surrendered to various police units in the Caraga Region from Nov. 6 to 14, the Police Regional Office (PRO-13) reported Tuesday.
In a statement, Maj. Jennifer Ometer, PRO-13 information officer, said the surrenderers also handed over to the government 22 firearms.
“Seven NPA rebels wanted by the law were also arrested during the period,” Ometer said, adding that among those arrested was NPA couple Nelson Binongkasan and Ednalyn Tejero Binongkasan.
Binongkasan, the team leader of Guerrilla Front Committee 19 (GFC-19), North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC) of the NPA, and his wife were arrested on Nov. 10 in Barangay Camagong in Nasipit town, Agusan del Norte province.
In a separate statement, PRO-13 Director, Brig. Gen. Pablo Labra II, welcomed the surrender and assured the rebels of support as they start with their new lives.
“I understand that the remaining rebels are now struggling because of the lack of food supply and resources,” Labra said.
He said the difficulties the NPA rebels experience can be attributed to the "awareness of communities of the government’s campaign to combat local communist insurgency under Executive Order No. 70."
He called on the remaining NPA rebels and supporters in the region to accept the government’s reconciliation efforts and return to their families. (PNA)
