INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
LUCENA CITY — An alleged New People’s Army (NPA) rebel surrendered to police and Army soldiers in Lopez town in Quezon province Friday, Feb. 3, after he got separated from his comrades, the military reported.
The 85th Infantry Battalion said in a report Saturday, Feb. 4, that the rebel returnee was Flaviano Andal Jr., alias “Ka Bitoy,” a resident of Lopez town.
The military tagged Andal as one of the communist guerrillas that engaged the government forces in two successive battles in San Andres and San Francisco towns over the weekend.
“He (Andal) got separated from the other rebels during the exchange of gunfire and decided to return home to his family,” the report said.
The military said Andal’s family convinced him to surrender.
On Jan. 27, police and soldiers clashed with a band of 10 to 15 communist guerrillas in Barangay (village) Pansoy in San Andres. A soldier was injured in the battle.
Two days later, three communist rebels were killed in another encounter in Barangay Huyon-Uyon in the neighboring San Francisco town.
The Red-fighters that were killed in the battle included Joseph delos Santos, alias “Ka Ken” or “Bingot,” the alleged leader of the communist guerrillas in the earlier clash in San Andres.
The troops recovered three AK-47 rifles from the dead rebels.
After the battle in San Francisco, Army soldiers rescued a wounded NPA rebel, identified as “Ka Arcy,” and brought him to town for treatment.
San Andres and San Francisco are located in the province’s 3rd district (Bondoc Peninsula), a known former NPA bailiwick in the Southern Tagalog region.