Two communist New People’s Army leaders operating in Agusan del Norte province have surrendered to military and police authorities on Sunday. In a statement Monday, Col. Filemon Pacios, Agusan del Norte provincial police director, identified the surrenderers only as ‘Luis’, 46, the executive and finance officer of the NPA Sub-Regional Committee 5 (SRC-5), North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC); and ‘Arro’, 31, the head of Platoon Huawei, SRC-5. Three of their members also yielded to the government on Sunday, identified only as ‘Boyong’, 24; ‘Mikay’, 20; and ‘Grace.’ All five surrendered before the officials of the Agusan del Norte Police Provincial Office (ADNPPO) and the Philippine Army’s 23rd Infantry Battalion here. ‘The surrender is the result of the unrelenting efforts in the campaign against the rebels to renounce their commitment as revolutionaries,’ Pacios said. Negotiations conducted by government forces with the support of community leaders also helped the five NPA insurgents decide to abandon the struggle, he added. The surrenderers are set to be enrolled in the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program. ‘We hope that the surrender of the two rebel leaders will bring positive sight to all the blinded members of the doomed NPA in the province,’ Pacios said
Source: Philippines News Agency
