2 FEMALE MINOR NPA MEMBERS SURRENDER IN SURSUR

Two female minor members of the New People’s Army (NPAs) voluntarily surrendered along with their firearms to 75th Infantry “Marauder” Battalion on December 3 and 4, 2021.

The surrenderees, ages 16 and 17, were both residents of the interior municipality of San Miguel town of this province, particularly in Barangay Bolhoon, and Barangay Carromata respectively.

One of the minor NPA members, “Danica,” was a student of the Tribal Filipino Program in Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS) and Agricultural and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV), a CPP-NPANDF-affiliated school. She was only 16 when she was recruited and joined the armed group in September 2020. The TRIFPSS and ALCADEV were ordered closed by the Caraga Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) during the current administration. The report stated that Danica lay low after she was wounded on her upper left arm in the encounter with the Special Forces Battalion last December 2020.

The other member, “Gang-gang,” who was only a 14 years old when she was recruited by the communistterrorist group. She was in 2nd Grade when she left her family to find a job that time but was instead recruited by the NPA. After years of experiencing life with the CTG, she decided to surrender to the Philippine Army due to exhaustion.

“Nagpasalamat ko sa mga sundalo kay ila akong gitabangan

karon. Dili diay tinuod na berdugo ang mga sundalo. Nagsurrender ko kay gusto nako malimpyo ang akoang pangalan ug dili nako mahadlok na magsigeg tago-tago (I thank the soldiers for helping me now. Soldiers are not real executioners. I surrendered because I wanted to clear my name and not have to constantly go into hiding),” Danica said, as she goes back to the mainstream society and live peacefully. military said that this act is a clear violation of human rights and International Humanitarian Law.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Jelson Buyuccan, Commanding Officer of the 75IB, assured the safety of the two minor females and life normally.

“Tutulungan namin itong sina Danica at Gang-gang na mamuhay ng normal at payapa kasama ang kanilang mga pamilya. Kasama sa kanilang boluntaryo na pagsuko ay atin silang i-enrol sa Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) na programa ng gobyerno para sa ating mga kasamahan na nagbalik-loob. (We will help Danica and Gang-gang live normally and peacefully with their families. Along with their voluntary surrender, we will enroll them in the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) program for our fellow converts),” Lt. Col Buyuccan said in a press statement.

The highest official of the 75IB urged other rebels not to hesitate to come down and surrender their weapons and join the folds of the government.

Together with the Local Government Units (LGUs) and other stakeholders, the 75IB will always support the government’s endeavor in eradicating the insurgency through the various programs of the TF-ELCAC, Lt. Col. Buyuccan said. (75th Infantry Battalion, PA/ PIA-Surigao del Sur)