FOUR New People’s Army (NPA) rebels surrendered to the military in Butuan City, with the military saying they feared ending up dead like their five comrades who perished in a clash with government soldiers Friday last week.
Lt. Jade Bryce Buñe, civil-military operations officer of the Army’s 29th Infantry Battalion, named the four rebels by their aliases as Juday, Gabriel, Bords and JR.
Buñe said the insurgents surrendered with their firearms last Wednesday, with the help of residents contacted by the rebels after last Friday’s clash.
“After the recent encounter that resulted in the death of their top cadres and recovery of their firearms, fearing for their lives, they realized that they will have the same fate as their comrades who died and were abandoned,” said Buñe.
Five NPA rebels, including three females, died after a firefight with government troops on a combat operation in Butuan last Friday. Soldiers also seized 15 high-powered firearms after the clash.
“They were part of the (encountered) group,” Buñe said of the four rebels.
“After the encounter, they sought assistance from residents who reached out to us, they facilitated the surrender (of the rebels),” said Buñe.
Buñe quoted JR, one of the rebels who surrendered, as saying: “We already realized that the ideology we believe in is wrong. That we were deceived and used for a useless cause.”
