DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 7, 2014) – Eight members of a communist underground organization have surrendered to the military in the southern Philippines, officials said Monday.
Army Capt. Alberto Caber, a spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command, said among those who surrendered were two women. He said the group surrendered on June 6 to the 27th Infantry Battalion in the village of Tasiman in South Cotabato’s Lake Sebu.
He identified those who yielded to the army as Ruben Dalisan, Ruben Timbang, Torib Tuan, Dicky Tuan, Banas Sodaw, Jomer Dalisan, Jemma Dalisan and Finish Timbang.
“They all belong to an organizing group of the New People’s Army,” Caber told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He said the villagers gad been exploited by the NPA. “They were deceived and exploited. The NPA and the Communist Party of the Philippines use these people in anti-government rallies, extortion activities, and as support role in the conduct of atrocities and other criminal activities,” Caber said.
He said some 450 members of this group had surrendered to the Eastern Mindanao Command since early this year.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, chief of the Eastern Mindanao Command, warned villagers no to fall into the propaganda of the communist rebels.
Cruz also praised local village officials and the 27th Infantry Battalion for its “Bayanihan” effort that led to the surrender of the 8 villagers. “We are thankful to the people and the local officials in the area for helping our peace and development teams achieve their mission and that is to rescue civilians exploited by the CPP-NPA,” he said.
The NPA has been waging a secessionist war in an effort to put up a communist state in the country. (J. Magtanggol)
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