FIVE alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) voluntarily surrendered to the police and Philippine Army’s 43rd Infantry Battalion (IB) in Lope de Vega, Northern Samar Tuesday, September 21, 2021.
Authorities identified the surrenderers as alias Perlito, alias Duwaring/Homer, alias Jomary, alias Rico, and alias Ungal, all full-time members of Squad 3, sub-regional committee Emporium.
They also turned in one caliber 7.62mm M14 rifle with serial number 612807 with two magazines and 75 rounds of ammunition for 7.62mm and bandolier; three caliber .45 with defaced serial numbers, four magazines and 25 rounds of ammunition for caliber .45; two caliber .38 revolvers with 10 rounds of ammunition and defaced serial numbers; two anti-personnel mines; anti-tank mine and 15 meters firing wire with firing device.
The Police Regional Office-Eastern Visayas lauded the efforts exerted by the police personnel and the Philippine Army in the surrender of the five alleged rebel personalities.
“I hope to have more brothers and sisters who will turn their backs from their armed struggle,” said Brigadier General Rommel Bernardo Cabagnot, regional police director.
The former rebels surrendered through the joined efforts of Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Degay, commanding officer of 43rd IB, and Major Edwin Oloan Jr, force commander of 1st Northern Samar Provincial Mobile Force Company.
Eastern Visayas, particularly the poverty-stricken Samar Island, has remained a hotbed of insurgency with the continued presence of the NPA who has been waging a Maoist-inspired guerrilla war since the late 1960s. (SunStar Philippines)