THIRTY-FOUR communist New People’s Army rebels surrendered to Army officials in the towns of Lebak and Kalamansig in Sultan Kudarat on Tuesday, the military’s Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) reported yesterday.
The Zambaonga City-based Wesmincom said 21 of the rebels surrendered in Lebak town to the Army’s 603rd Brigade on Tuesday morning and were later presented to the town’s mayor, Frederick Celestial, at the Lebak town hall.
The 21 were led by Ariel Odas Apang, commander of the Dragon Fruit Platoon under the NPA’s East Daguma Front. The rebels turned over 21 assorted firearms, ammunition and other war materiel.
The 13 other rebels also surrendered in Kalamansig town, also to the 603rd Brigade, on Tuesday afternoon. The 13, from the NPA’s Sub-Regional Command-Daguma, likewise surrendered war materiel, including six firearms.
Wesmincom spokesman Lt. Col. Alaric Delos Santos said the 34 rebels are in halfway houses in Sultan Kudarat while authorities are processing their enrollment with the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.
“The series of surrender of former CTG (communist terrorist group) members are manifestations that their organization is dwindling and on the brink of defeat,” said Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao.
Noting the military’s intensified collaboration with the various stakeholders, Uy said “we are hopeful that more NPA members will be encouraged to surrender and live normal lives again with their families.”
Colonel Eduardo Gubat, 603rd Brigade commander, said the surrender of the 34 rebels will further weaken the NPA in Sultan Kudarat.
“Their surrender is a huge setback to the mainstream CTG which is an indication that the stronghold of the communist terrorist group is continuously weakening in Sultan Kudarat,” said Gubat.