DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / June 4, 2013) – A communist rebel who escaped a clash with government troops in southern Philippines have surrendered to the military after his bus stopped at a checkpoint in Compostela Valley province, officials said Tuesday.
Officials said Jonathan Bustamante, a member of the New People’s Army, was all bruised when he surrendered to the soldiers who were inspecting the bus in the village of Amor Cruz in Laak town.
Bustamente told soldiers that he was part of an NPA band that clashed recently with troops in the town. He also led soldiers to the site where he buried his AK-47 rifle to evade pursuing military forces, according to Col. Buenaventura Pascual, commander of the 1003rd Infantry Brigade.
The NPA has been fighting the government for decades in an effort to establish a separate state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
20