EXHAUSTION triggered a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) to return to the government folds in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental on Wednesday, October 19.
Brigadier General Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, identified the former NPA member as alias “Jan-Jan”, who was among those who engaged in sporadic gun battles with the members of the Philippine Army at the hinterlands of Barangay Carabalan in the last two weeks.
The former rebel said that their group suffered casualties so he was tasked to carry one of the firearms of his eight wounded comrades and took it as an opportunity to escape from his group while they are evading the pursuing elements of 94th Infantry Battalion (IB).
He disclosed that a resident helped him so he could surrender and turnover two M16A1 rifles with ammunition and magazines.
Aside from exhaustion, he cited extreme fatigue, fear, hunger, confusion and senseless direction of their organization as the primary factors that made him decide to surrender.
He claimed that he is among those who have been deceived by the propaganda of the NPAs, and that joining the group wasted his time and life fighting for a senseless cause.
"The Philippine Army and the local government units are very much willing to assist NPA members who want to return to the folds of the law and are sincere to abandon the armed struggle,” Pasaporte said, as he lauded the decision of the former rebel to return to the government folds.
“I commend your bravery of surrendering yourself to our troops without hesitation, again, this is an example that you will not be harmed if you surrender peacefully contrary to the propaganda of the NPA," Pasaporte added.
The military official assured that the army is willing to assist him and his comrades to avail the government programs should they decide to surrender, too.
Meanwhile, Captain Mervin Rosal, Civil Military Operations Officer of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said personnel from 94th IB and 32nd CMO Company assisted and secured the peaceful return of about 300 remaining evacuees in their respective homes in different sitios of Barangay Carabalan on Wednesday.
City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) records showed that more than 2,000 evacuees have already returned to their homes in Carabalan last week.*