FORT RAMON MAGSAYSAY, Palayan City – A 28-year-old University of the Philippines alumnus who was reportedly rescued by the military from the New People’s Army was reunited to his parent in this camp Thursday, the army reported.
Maj. Gen. Andrew Costelo, commander of the 7th Infantry Division, together with a local government unit official and a representative from the local Department of Social Welfare and Development, “handed over” Emman Tan to his parent in front of the 7ID headquarters building.
“The Army hopes Emman all the best,” said Costelo. “I hope he can now take advantage of his credentials in community development degree from UP to have a better life after this sad experience from joining the NPA.”
Tan, also known as Bagins, who reportedly surrendered to army troopers after a series of clashes in the hinterlands of Asipulo, Ifugao on May 30, 2022, earned his Bachelor of Science in Community Development Degree from UP-Diliman in 2016, the military said.
A member of UP Anakbayan in 2012, Tan was also member of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines in 2019, reports said.
“With the help and kindness of the Army troops, I was rescued from an encounter in the hinterlands of Ifugao,” Tan was quoted as saying in a news release from the 7ID public affairs office.
This developed as local prosecutors from Ifugao and the Army legal officers are processing the required documents on Tan’s possible legal liabilities.
Based on local records, a total of 28 students or graduates from different colleges and universities who joined the NPA were killed in armed encounters with government security forces as of February 2022. From this number, 18 are from UP.
Photos and other pieces of information are withheld per request of the parent and pending legal procedures.
The military also did not specify whether the parent is Tan’s father or mother.
“In the spirit of ending the local communist armed conflict, we hope that this peace gesture will inform the small remaining members of the NPA here in Luzon that the Army is willing to facilitate their return back to their normal lives,” said Costelo.
