AN 18-year-old female New People’s Army officer was injured and apprehended by government troops after a firefight in Zamboanga del Norte on Wednesday.
Maj. Arvin Encinas, spokesman of the AFP Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City, identified the rebel only through her alias, “Jekjek,” a medical and political officer of the NPA in the province.
She sustained a bullet wound in the her buttocks in a firefight with troops from the Army’s 97th Infantry Battalion in Sitio Kasong, Barangay Midatag.
Encinas said the soldiers were sent to the area after receiving reports that a group of rebels were looting from residents.
Encinas said the rebels fled after a 10-minute firefight, leaving behind Jekjek.
“She was then rescued by the soldiers who were clearing the encounter site,” Encinas said.
Brig. Gen. Leonel Nicolas, commander of the Army’s 102nd Brigade, said Jekjek was “recruited and brainwashed” by leaders and legal fronts of the NPA at the age of 14.
“She was used and abused during her time with the group and eventually abandoned when she was wounded. That is how the group treats its members,” Nicolas said.
Maj. Gen. Generoso Ponio, commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, said, “Rest assured that we, in coordination with our partners and stakeholders, will provide the necessary medical assistance to Jekjek.”
