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Saturday, March 12, 2005
NPA rebel surrenders
By Sheila H. Aquino
"Have a new life."
These were the comforting words of Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin Lim to New People's Army (NPA) member Reynaldo Papa who was presented to the public last Thursday at the City Mayor's Office after he surrendered to the Dagupan City Police Station (DCPS).
"It is heartening that Papa made the bold decision to surrender to the City Government where he has trust and confidence that he will be given fair treatment as a rebel returnee," Lim said.
He said Papa made the right decision to submit himself into the fold of law and eventually, aspire to live a normal life.
"Maybe he has realized that the group's activities are meaningless so he has now decided to surrender and cooperate with the government," Lim said, adding that Papa can possibly avail of the amnesty program of the government.
The mayor also expressed hope that with this development, the rebel returnee could help identify other NPA members or even convince the same to surrender, too.
Lim believes that the rebels are misguided people who sacrifice so much because of their mission even as he reiterated his belief that the so-called "revolutionary tactics" of the group could not possibly exist in Dagupan City since it is highly urbanized.
The former NPA member subsequently surrendered his caliber .357 revolver service firearm with six live ammunitions to Lim and Dagupan police chief Supt. Candito Quijardo.
Papa, 33, also known as Ka Arnold or Randy, was born in Malasiqui town in Pangasinan but resides in San Agustin, Gerona, Tarlac.
Papa sent feelers on December 20 last year to Quijardo to surrender to the Dagupan police as long as the police official could guarantee his safety and would recommend him for amnesty program.
He later revealed his participation in the following activities against the government like burning of the cell site of Smart Tower and a fabric factory at the town proper and in Tebagan, Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac; killing of SPO4 Lactaotao of San Jose, Tarlac Police Office on December 19, 2001; killing of the barangay chairman of Sula, San Jose, Tarlac on September 26, 2001; assault of an Army detachment in Barangay Laoac, San Jose Tarlac; burning of a bus at the boundary of Paniqui and Gerona in Tarlac in 2003; ambush of a certain Aceris, a member of the intelligence division of Gerona Police Station in 2000; and ambush of a certain Galisa, a member of the San Jose Police Station in Tarlac in 2000.
Papa was recruited on July 19, 1998 by his uncle, Cerio Pascua of San Agustin, Gerona, Tarlac who is member of the NPA.
He was trained in Zambales, specifically at Bundok Baag, Bundokflag, and Susung Dalaga.
He joined the propaganda movement of the NPA for six months in Sta. Ignacia, Camiling, Mayantoc, San Vicente, San Jose and Capas, all of the province of Tarlac and in Mangatarem, Pangasinan.
Moreover, he joined the armed movement (Bagong Hukbong Bayan) of the NPA where he was tasked to liquidate persons known to be oppressors of the masses and also collected annual revolutionary tax from a rancho in San Jose, Tarlac; piggery farm in Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac; Smart Cell company in Camiling and Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac; and sugarcane plantation in Capaz, Tarlac.
(March 12, 2005 issue)
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