PEACEFUL SURRENDER. Three of the seven New People’s Army rebels who surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 36th Infantry Battalion on Thursday (Dec. 14, 2023) in Barangay Puyat, Carmen, Surigao del Sur. The rebels also handed over five high-powered firearms upon their surrender. (Photo courtesy of 36IB)
BUTUAN CITY – Seven members of the New People’s Army (NPA) surrendered to the Army’s 36th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Carmen town, Surigao del Sur province, a military official here said Friday.
In a statement, Lt. Col. Vincent Viray, the 36IB commander, said he accepted the batch of surrenderers Thursday in Carmen, where they also handed over an AR-15 rifle, a Garand rifle, an M14 rifle, and two AK-47 rifles.
“They surrendered after experiencing exhaustion and hunger due to the relentless operations of government troops,” Viray said.
He identified the surrenderers as Jomar Opdina, Analyn Penig, Risky Perez Acevedo, Daniel Bihon Plaza, Jericho Cabadonga, Michael Plaza, and Gesriel Alimbuyong, all belonging to the weakened NPA Guerrilla Front 30, North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee.
Viray said the insurgents have lost the support of the communities in Surigao del Sur as well as in the nearby provinces within the Caraga region.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, the Army’s 4th Infantry Division commander, said they are continuously reaching out to the remaining NPA rebels, and allowing them to return to their families and communities through peaceful negotiations.
"The voluntary surrender of these communist rebels only displays the effectiveness of collaborative counter-insurgency initiatives (of the government) to dismantle remaining NPA networks in Caraga and Northern Mindanao,” he said. (PNA)
