Mass surrender of "NPA rebels" in Samar a sham?

CATARMAN, NORTHERN SAMAR, Philippines — The "en masse" surrender of alleged NPA rebels in Bobon town of Northern Samar last month was not true, according to the Rodante Urtal Command (RUC) of the CPP-NPA-NDF, accusing the Philippine Army's 8th Infantry Division of lying.

RUC spokesperson Amado Pesante, in a statement sent to The Freeman on Saturday, asserted that the 53 persons, presented by the military as NPA surrenderees, were peasants who were allegedly forced by the 20th Infantry Battalion to misrepresent themselves purportedly to showcase the weakening strength of the rebel movement.

"Major Gen. Gerardo Layug (8th ID commander) and Col. Vestuir are both desperate to conceal the advances of the revolutionary movement, and even gone to the extent of creating a moro-moro to fool the people of Samar," Pesante said.

He added that in the months of June and July alone, about 17 soldiers died and another 11 were wounded after the rebels conducted a series of tactical offensives versus government troops.

He further cited the clashes in the villages of Avelino, Cuenco and Lakandula-all in Las Navas town-where 12 soldiers were allegedly killed and two others were wounded, although these also resulted in the killing of one rebel and the wounding of four others.

"Our recent clashes in Barangays Lungib and Luisita in Victoria town (Northern Samar) have raised the military casualties by five and the wounded by nine. We didn't suffer any loss in this tactical offensive, and now they (military) are claiming that we are losing our ground?" Pesante said in the statement.

Captain Amado Gutierrez, chief of the 8th ID Public Affairs Office, however belied the claims of Pesante, and pointed out that the 53 surrenderees were real members of the NPA organizing committee, 15 of whom were armed members of the NPA Militia Unit, which was a multiplier force of the rebel group.

Gutierrez said that, prior to the mass surrender, couple Lemuel Moreno and Nida Moreno, NPA squad leader and medical officer, respectively, surrendered to the 20th IB, and were the ones who exhorted and negotiated for the surrender of their other colleagues.

"And it did not end there. Later on the same day, Jonathan Moreno known as Ka Baris who headed an NPA squad unit and the son of Lemuel and Nida, joined his 53 colleagues raising the number of surrenderees to 54. All of them were unanimous in their reason for withdrawing their support to the rebel group: Kasi ang lider na nila mismo ang nagsabi na tapat ang gobyerno sa mga programa nito para sa kanila," Gutierrez said.

It was learned that all of the 54 surrenderees were placed under the local Social Integration Program of Bobon town, thru Mayor Leny Celespara, while those who brought their firearms availed of the Gun for Peace program, which grants monetary reward in exchange of the yielded guns. (FREEMAN)