Military declares Zamboanga Peninsula ‘NPA-free’

GUERRILLAS NO MORE Top Army officials in Zamboanga Peninsula lead the program on Friday at the headquarters of the 1st Infantry Division in Pulacan, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, marking the surrender of the last three active New People’s Army rebels operating in the region, identified as (from left) Alberto Lumamba, Niel Baron and Judith Ayas. —LEAH AGONOY

KUTA SANG-AN, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR – The Army on Friday declared the entire Zamboanga Peninsula region as freed of the presence of communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

This followed the surrender last week of three guerrillas who were described by Maj. Gen. Gabriel Viray III, commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, as the last remaining holdouts of the communist rebellion in the region.

The regionwide declaration came three years after the province of Zamboanga del Sur was cited as NPA-free in 2021.

Viray presented the three former guerrillas to the public on Friday and identified them as Niel Baron alias “Jundy,” 28; his wife Judith Ayas, alias “Crismae” and “Jeepey,” 26; and Alberto Lumamba, alias “Jack” and “Joven,” 35.

He said the three used to be the NPA’s Guerrilla Front BBC or “Big Beautiful Country” that operated in the adjoining mountains of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Misamis Occidental provinces.

READ: Informer gets P1-million bounty for tip on NPA in Zamboanga del Sur

After the front was dismantled, the three joined the remaining forces of the Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee, Viray said.

Baron, who used to be a squad leader, brought along an M16A1 rifle with ammunition; Ayas turned in an M1911 .45-caliber pistol with ammunition; and Lumamba an M16 rifle with ammunition.

Baron had been a guerrilla for 12 years and currently faces four criminal charges, mostly attempted murder. Ayas was with the NPA for seven years and has 10 criminal cases. Lumamba, who used to be a commanding officer of a guerrilla unit, has been a rebel for 13 years and has four cases for attempted murder.

Legal assistance

Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Victor Yu said the legal cluster of the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict as well as the provincial government’s lawyers were ready to assist the three former rebels with their pending criminal cases filed in various courts in Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.

The provincial government will aid in their transition to civilian life by providing them opportunities for education and skills training, apart from immediate financial assistance, he added.

Lt. Col. Terence Ylanan, commanding officer of the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion, said the three could also avail of the amnesty offered by the government and the military will help in their application.

In Cagayan de Oro City, the Army command covering the Caraga region and parts of Northern Mindanao has said that its anti-insurgency campaign had “achieved significant operational successes” in the past three months.

Maj. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, commander of the 4th Infantry Division (4ID) and Joint Task Force Diamond, said these achievements further chipped off the already weakened combat capacity of the NPA in the two regions.

During a recent command conference, it was shown that from April 1 to June 30, government troops engaged in 17 armed encounters with the guerrillas operating in north eastern and north central Mindanao, resulting in the “neutralization” of 45 rebels and seizure of 56 firearms, said Lt. Col. Francisco Garello Jr., 4ID public affairs chief.