PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / June 15, 2014) – A 19-year old female fighter of the communist rebel group New People’s Army surrendered Sunday to the military after her group abandoned her following a firefight in Zamboanga del Norte’s Leon Postigo town.
Capt. Franco Suelto, a spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division, said Mary Sadia, alias Ka Lisa, also surrendered her M16 automatic rifle and five magazines, including a rifle grenade, to Lt. Levie Jolly Bulawan, of the 10th Infantry Battalion.
“She revealed that her comrades abandoned her during the firefight with the government troops. Instead of re-joining his comrades, she opted to surrender to rejoin the mainstream society and live a normal and peaceful life with her family,” Suelto said.
Sadia’s group clashed with troops under Bulawan on June 14 also in Leon Postigo town where one government soldier was wounded.
Colonel Aminkadra Undug, the division commander, praised the troops involved in the surrender of Sadia. “Her surrender is a proof of our sincerity in promoting peace and we urge other rebels to come and join us and live peacefully with your family,” he said.
The NPA is the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
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