NEW LIFE. A New People’s Army (NPA) guerilla identified only as 'Pilo' hands over his rifle to Lt. Col. Ranier Mabus, commanding officer of the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion, during a surrender rite at the battalion headquarters in Carmen, North Cotabato, on Thursday (April 13, 2023. A day earlier, another rebel identified only as 'Takla' also turned himself in in Maasim town, Sarangani province. (Photo courtesy of 6ID)
CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao del Norte – Two communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who claimed they wanted to live normal lives have separately surrendered in North Cotabato and Sarangani provinces, military officials here said Friday.
In North Cotabato, an NPA fighter identified only as “Pilo” of the dismantled NPA Guerilla Front 72, Far South Mindanao Region, surrendered in Barangay Nasapian, Carmen town, on Thursday.
Lt. Col. Ranier Mabus, the Philippine Army’s 1st Scout Ranger Battalion (1SRB) commander, said the Army negotiated for his surrender in Barangay Kimlawis, Kiblawan town, Davao del Sur.
"Pilo brought along with him an M16 rifle and one magazine loaded with ten rounds of live ammunition," Mabus said.
Meanwhile, another rebel also surrendered to the military in Maasim, Sarangani on Wednesday.
For security reasons, Lt. Colonel Michael Angelo Candole, the Army’s 38th Infantry Battalion (IB) commander, identified the surrenderer only as a certain “Takla”, a member of the NPA Guerilla Front Musa-Far South Mindanao Region.
Candole said Takla decided to surrender after realizing that the NPA armed struggle was "going nowhere."
“Our armed struggle against the government gave us nothing, many of our colleagues have died in fighting mighty military forces,” the 38IB quoted Takla as saying in the vernacular.
He turned over an M-16 rifle with bullets.
Major Gen. Alex Rillera, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander, said both surrenderers will be enrolled under the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program to start their new lives.
“Let us work together to encourage the remaining NPAs to return to mainstream society and contribute to a peaceful and prosperous Mindanao," he said.
Since January, the number of communist rebels who surrendered to the 6ID area of responsibility has climbed to 15.
The 6ID also reported that 10 NPA members were killed in encounters, while five others were arrested during the period. (PNA)
