5 NPA rebels surrender to Marines in Sultan Kudarat

SULTAN KUDARAT, Philippines — Five members of the New People’s Army yielded on Thursday to a unit of the Philippine Marine Corps in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat.

Rebels Ariel Udas Apang, Nicanor Nayam Apang, Ariel Matog Apang, Uwi Sulay Kulam and Iyoy Lebeg Nayam belong to the NPA’s notorious Guerilla Front 73.

The group is feared for its ruthlessness on villagers who refuse to shell out “protection money” on periodic basis and for using improvised electronic devices on civilians they suspect of conniving with the military.

Captain Arvin Encinas, public affairs officer of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said Friday the five men surrendered to the 2nd Marine Battalion through the intercession of its commander, Lt. Col. Jose Marie Santos and Mayor Dionisio Besana of the seaside Lebak municipality.

They turned over firearms and improvised explosive devices to the Marines who fetched them from a hinterland at the border of Lebak and Kalamansig town, also in the same province.

More than a hundred NPAs from Sultan Kudarat’s Bagumbayan and Senator Ninoy Aquino towns surrendered in the past 18 months to units of the 6th ID, whose coverage include the coastal towns in the province.

Encinas said the commander of 6th ID, Major Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, has requested the provincial governor of Sultan Kudarat, Pax Mangudadatu, to help reintegrate the five former NPAs into mainstream society by providing them livelihood support.