4 NPA rebels yield to Army in North Cotabato

MAKILALA, NORTH COTABATO — The 39th Infantry Battalion on Wednesday announced the surrender of four New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas following an armed encounter with government forces early this week.

Lt. Col. Rhojun Rosales, 39th IB commanding officer, said the NPA rebels were captured in their hide-out in Barangay New Baguio, Makilala.

Rosales said they caught the NPA off-guard, who were suffering from fatigue and hunger around 10 p.m. Monday. The rebels yielded five high-powered firearms.

“They surrendered with five high-powered firearms loaded with magazines, rifle grenades, improvised antipersonnel mines, and terrorist documents. The surrender was the result of a focused-military operation and reliable information from concerned citizens in the area,” Rosales said.

He said, during the debriefing, the NPA rebels were shocked by the ferocity of assaulting ground troops that included the superior firepower of government air assets.

The former rebels disclosed that they ran out of ammunition as they tried to equal the firepower of the ground troops.

Rosales did not name the rebels for their security. The rebels confided that other members of their group left them to forage for food and tried to escape from pursuing government forces.

“They also revealed that they were lured to join the NPA because they were immediately given the high-powered firearms and promised monthly support for their families.

The former NPA disclosed that they were not aware of the Enhanced-Comprehensive Livelihood Integration Program (E-CLIP) for they lived in the remote sitios of Makilala, Cotabato and Magsaysay, Davao del Sur.

Brigadier General Roberto Ancan, 1002nd Brigade Commander said, they would continue asking the assistance of concerned citizens to deliver information on E-CLIP to communist guerrillas./lzb