New People’s Army AP FILE PHOTO
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Three members of the New People’s Army, one of them a woman, have surrendered to the military in Ilocos Sur, the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division said on Monday (Feb. 27).
Lt. Col. Eugenio Julio Osias IV, head of the division’s 81st Infantry Battalion based in Ilocos Sur, identified them only by their aliases “Ka Lumen,” “Ka Ren” and “Ka Fera” for security reasons.
In a statement, Osias said two of them served as medics in the guerilla front “Montes” while another was a regular fighter in an armed propaganda unit in the south central part of the province.
He said the three rebels placed themselves under military custody sometime between January and Feb. 24.
According to Osias, the rebels gave up out of dismay over the lifting of the unilateral ceasefire by the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines, the NPA said, has militarized communities during the peace negotiations.
The Philippine government pulled out of the peace talks due to what it called NPA offensives in Mindanao. SFM/rga