ANGELES CITY – It has all the drama of a telenovela.
An armed woman belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA) gives birth and decides to return to the fold of the government. The military decides to help her baptize the baby. At the chapel during the baptism, emotions fl ow as the husband shows up.
It was a recent true-to-life story at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, as told by the Army’s 7th Infantry Division.
Without revealing their full identities for their security, the 7th ID said the woman, whom the military described as an “amazon” and known to the military as “Ka Rose,” surrendered last Oct. 13 to the 703rd Infantry Brigade along with her newly born baby. Last week, military officials granted her request for the baby to be baptized at the Fort Magsaysay chapel, with Army commander Lt. Gen. Macairog Alberto and 7th ID commander Maj. Gen. Filemon Santos as godfathers.
At the chapel before the baptismal rites, the woman’s husband who was identifi ed only as Tamas, showed up in polo barong, after he, too, surrendered to the military. The baptism also became a tearful reunion for the couple and their baby, the 7th ID said.
The military said Tamas used to be a regular member of the NPA’s Kilusang Sierra Madre who surrendered to the 91st Infantry Battalion last Nov. 21 in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija.
The 7th ID said the couple expressed gratitude to the Armed Forces of the Philippines “for giving them another chance to live a normal life with the help of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP),” a government program to help former rebels return to normal community life.
After the baptism, military officials also inspected various arms that soldiers had confiscated from NPA rebels from their recent operations that yielded 22 high-powered firearms, 11 improvised explosive devices, one hand grenade, one revolver and one saw. These were seized during operations by the 48th Infantry Battalion, 69th Infantry Battalion, 84th Infantry Battalion, 91st Infantry Battalion all under the 703rd Infantry Brigade of the 7th ID.
