BACK TO NORMAL. Lt. Col. Cresencio Gargar (center), Philippine Army’s 29th Infantry Battalion (29IB) commander, welcomes the surrender of four New People’s Army (NPA) rebels on Wednesday (June 21, 2023), at the unit’s headquarters in Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte. The four turned themselves in five days after an encounter in the vicinity of Barangay Anticala, Butuan City on June 16 that left five NPA insurgents dead and the capture of 16 high-powered firearms. (Photo courtesy of 29IB)
BUTUAN CITY – Four communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels surrendered to authorities five days after an encounter in Barangay Anticala here that killed five insurgents and seizure of 16 high-powered firearms.
The surrenderers turned themselves in to the Philippine Army’s 29th Infantry Battalion (29IB) headquarters on Wednesday in Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte.
They were identified only as Juday, Bords, Gabriel, and JR, who all belonged to the "Weakened Guerilla Front 21" of the NPA.
In a statement Thursday, the 29IB said the surrender was the result of the intensified military and police operations in the cities of Butuan and Cabadbaran.
“They feared for their lives after the June 16 encounter which killed five of their comrades, including their leaders. Most of their firearms were also recovered by the government forces,” the 29IB said.
Among the rebels killed during the encounter were Adonis Maglasang Arellano, Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC) executive officer and vice squad commander of the NPA Regional Operational Command, and his wife, Raylin Zubiri, a finance staff of the NEMRC.
Lt. Col. Cresencio Gargar, the 29IB commander, lauded the decision of the surrenderers to abandon the armed struggle.
“I am glad of your returning to the folds of the government so that you can have a chance to change your lives with your family,” he said.
Gargar also called on the fleeing NPA guerrillas to consider the government's reconciliation offers.
“Our camp is wide open, ready to receive you at any time,” he said. (PNA)
