PALAYAN CITY – At least three alleged members of the Communist-led New People’s Army (NPA) surrendered on Saturday even as they reportedly questioned “missing funds” of the movement in Aurora province.
Lt. Col. Elias Escarcha, commander of the Army’s 48th Infantry Battalion (48IB) said those who surrendered include a political instructor of the so called North Platoon of the Aurora Provincial Party Committee.
In his report to Major Gen. Ralph Villanueva, commander of the 7th Infantry Division (Kaugnay), Escarcha identified the former rebels as Herbert Febro,27; Cristina Olano,18 and a young woman whose name was withheld in this report.
Febro, who was known for his aliases “Jaki,” “Billy,” “Allen” and “Alex,” was a political instructor of the group while Olano, alias Grace, carries the rank of training S4, which deals with supplies, according to a military report.
The three surrendered to Escarcha at the 48th IB’s headquarters in Barangay Calabuanan in Baler, Aurora over the weekend.
Febro told Escarcha that they decided “to return to the fold of the law because we could no longer countenance the perceived abuses of our commander,” which he identified as one “Ka Isaac.”
Such tension, he said, “is gripping the movement because of alleged missing funds and favoritism exercised by their commander.”
According to government security officials, Febro even went on accusing Ka Isaac of unlawfully taking the former’s wife, named Ka Mitchie, also an alleged rebel.
“There is no more reason to fight the government if the atrocities we condemn exist right in our own backyard,” he said in Filipino.
Escarcha said that the two others surrendered because of extreme hunger and deprivation of living in the mountains.
He said Villanueva, 7th Infantry Division commanding general and Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, commander of the 702nd Infantry Brigade, are coordinating with Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process under Avelino Razon to include those who surrendered in the government’s Social Integration Program.
“This is for them to avail of livelihood programs to facilitate their integration into the mainstream society,” Escarcha said.
Lt. Col. Elias Escarcha, commander of the Army’s 48th Infantry Battalion (48IB) said those who surrendered include a political instructor of the so called North Platoon of the Aurora Provincial Party Committee.
In his report to Major Gen. Ralph Villanueva, commander of the 7th Infantry Division (Kaugnay), Escarcha identified the former rebels as Herbert Febro,27; Cristina Olano,18 and a young woman whose name was withheld in this report.
Febro, who was known for his aliases “Jaki,” “Billy,” “Allen” and “Alex,” was a political instructor of the group while Olano, alias Grace, carries the rank of training S4, which deals with supplies, according to a military report.
The three surrendered to Escarcha at the 48th IB’s headquarters in Barangay Calabuanan in Baler, Aurora over the weekend.
Febro told Escarcha that they decided “to return to the fold of the law because we could no longer countenance the perceived abuses of our commander,” which he identified as one “Ka Isaac.”
Such tension, he said, “is gripping the movement because of alleged missing funds and favoritism exercised by their commander.”
According to government security officials, Febro even went on accusing Ka Isaac of unlawfully taking the former’s wife, named Ka Mitchie, also an alleged rebel.
“There is no more reason to fight the government if the atrocities we condemn exist right in our own backyard,” he said in Filipino.
Escarcha said that the two others surrendered because of extreme hunger and deprivation of living in the mountains.
He said Villanueva, 7th Infantry Division commanding general and Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, commander of the 702nd Infantry Brigade, are coordinating with Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process under Avelino Razon to include those who surrendered in the government’s Social Integration Program.
“This is for them to avail of livelihood programs to facilitate their integration into the mainstream society,” Escarcha said.
