PATH TO PEACE. Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte (left), commander of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, and Lt. Col. J-jay Javines (right), commanding officer of 79th Infantry Battalion, with former Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army rebels alias “Bruno”, 30, and alias “Mary”, 29, during a ceremony held at the battalion headquarters in Barangay Bato, Sagay City, Negros Occidental on Jan. 17, 2022. The two surrenderers, who turned themselves in on January 15, were cadres of the dismantled Northern Negros Front, Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor. (Photo courtesy of 79th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army)
BACOLOD CITY – Two guerrillas of thebCommunist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (79IB) in Negros Occidental on January 15 after 10 years in the armed struggle.
The 79IB identified the surrenderers as alias “Bruno”, 30, and alias “Mary”, 29, political instructor and education staff, respectively, of the dismantled Northern Negros Front (NNF), Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor (KR-NCBS).
1Lt. Dansan Camua, civil-military operations officer of the 79IB, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday both are now in their custody while they are processing the documents to avail of the benefits under the Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program or E-CLIP.
“They will also become members of the Masaligan Former Rebels Community for Peace Project for them to undergo a deradicalization program. The benefits, such as livelihood and economic packages, will enable them to start a new life,” Camua said.
Two days after their surrender, Lt. Col. J-jay Javines, commanding officer of 79IB, presented the former rebels to Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, in a ceremony held at the battalion headquarters in Barangay Bato, Sagay City.
The former rebels told the 79IB officials they were abused by their leaders, faced hardships in the mountains, and lost confidence in their cause, prompting them to leave and pursue the path to peace and be with their loved ones again.
They both want to rebuild their lives and recover lost opportunities, 79IB officials said.
The two also disclosed that remnants of the dismantled NNF are now on the verge of collapse, following the death of secretary Kerima Lorena “Ella” Tariman and finance officer Marilyn “Monet” Badayos in separate encounters with government troops in Silay City and Manapla town last August and October, respectively.
Still, they said their former comrades continue to conduct recruitment and recovery efforts, particularly in the hinterland barangays in the boundaries of Escalante City as well as Toboso and Calatrava towns, in the first district as well as in the remote areas of the cities of Silay, Cadiz, and Victorias and the adjacent town of E.B. Magalona in the third district.
Javines said the testimonies of the two former rebels affirm the leadership abuses and resentful system within the CPP-NPA.
“The hardships within the NPA units are already unbearable especially now that the support from their masses is declining. More of their members will opt to lie low and surrender, which will lead towards their downfall in northern Negros,” he added.
Javines warned Negrenses anew not to be lured by the propaganda of the CPP-NPA since “there is no future in joining and supporting their futile cause”.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the National Democratic Front as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and separate part” of the CPP-NPA that was created in April 1973. (PNA)
