BUTUAN CITY -- Due to exhaustion and hunger, a couple who were handling key positions in the communist movement voluntarily surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 65th Infantry Battalion (65th IB) in Barangay Mahaba, Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte province.
Chief of Public Affairs Office (PAO) of the Army’s Northeastern and Northern Mindanao 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division (4th ID) Maj. Francisco P. Garello, Jr. told The Manila Bulletin on Tuesday that the husband was a platoon commander while his wife was a party official of a guerilla under the CPP-NPA Northeastern Mindanao Regional Party Committee (NEMRPC).
The platoon commander and his wife whose real identities are temporarily withheld are operating in the two Agusan provinces (North and South) in Northeastern Mindanao.
They yielded hand guns and voluntarily handed over to 65th IB commander Lt. Col. Emerson De Vera.
“Exhaustion and hunger due to sustained focus military operations in the area had forced the husband and wife to surrender,” Maj. Garello said.
The couple’s colleagues who have earlier surrendered also influenced their decision to turn themselves, added Maj. Garello.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. De Vera assured the NPA couple yesterday of support from the government to help them go back to their normal lives.
The 65th IB commander also assured the couple that they will be enrolled in the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration program of the government, in an effort to be more productive in their local community.