Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Communist leader, followers trapped in Zambo Sur, ready to yield: military officer By Cheng Ordonez
SOLDIERS were pursuing a top official of the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Mindanao who is said to be trapped in a mountainous village in Zamboanga del Sur province, and has sent feelers for his surrender, the military claimed.
Colonel Jose Vizcarra, 401st Infantry Brigade commander, said NDF official Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, spokesman of the NDF in Mindanao, was having a hard time slipping through the military cordon set up by elements of the 36th and 58th Infantry Battalions in Barangay Sta. Juana, Tagbina town, Zamboanga del Sur.
Vizcarra said he expected his men to get Madlos soon after they barred residents of the village from gathering food to be sent to the rebel leader.
He claimed Madlos had sent a message to a government officer to work out the details for his surrender.
Madlos, who is in his 60's, can hardly traverse the mountains as he has been suffering from an acute kidney ailment for years, Vizcarra said.
To ensure Madlos and his men would not escape, the Army has been scouring the area on a 24-hour basis.
At least seven clashes between the communist's armed wing, the New People's Army, and government troops were recorded since the military operations in Tagbina started last January 8.
A rebel was killed while several others were wounded in those clashes, the military claimed.
