A squad leader and a medic of the New People’s Army (NPA) surrendered to the soldiers of the 71st Infantry Battalion in Mawab, Compostela Valley last Thursday.
Mawab Mayor Ruperto Gonzaga III assisted Ka Marco and Ka Janggoy as they gave up to Lt. Col. Esteveyn Ducusin, the battalion commander of 71st IB, at its headquarters in Purok 8, Barangay Nueva Visayas.
1st Lt. Jhocell Asis, the 71st IB civil-military operation (CMO) officer, said the rebel returnees also surrendered three improvised explosive devices (IEDS), weighing 15 kilos each.
Asis said both were members of the Guerilla Front 27 (GF 27), Sub Regional Committee 2 (SRC2) of the NPA’s Southern Mindanao Regional Command (SMRC) operating in Mawab.
Marco, 23, was a former squad leader, vice political instructor and vice commanding officer. Janggoy, 24, was a medic.
The IEDs, the returnees said, were buried “to inflict damages to military and populace.”
They were left by their commander Robert Demicillo alias Ka Rashed/Macdel.
Marco disclosed that a certain Ka Val recruited him to join the movement.
He participated in an armed encounter in New Bataan, Compostea Valley sometime last year.
Marco said he realized that the NPA only misled him with wrong ideology so decided to surrender to live in peace.
On the other hand, Janggoy said it her father’s involvement in the movement that persuaded her to join the group.
She is a daughter of Ka Binoy, a well-known NPA member in Mawab.
She said her father died during an encounter in Maragusan, Compostela Valley in 2016. She attested that her father was left abandoned by her comrades. Yet, the NPA leadership still insisted that Binoy is still alive.
“Having known the truth, she lacks interest in pursuing what she started fighting for,” Asis said.
