(CNN Philippines) – Five members of New People’s Army (NPA), one of whom is a teenage girl, voluntarily surrendered themselves to military authorities in North Cotabato, citing hunger and extreme hardships in the jungle as their main reasons.
One of the rebel returnees, alias Ryan, 22 years old and has been in the underground movement for two years said the unbearable life in the jungle drove them to lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law.
Ryan said their life in the jungle is an endless journey. They carried heavy baggages and travelled night and day.
They had endured hunger and fatigue in the pursuit of their causes but they are already tired of that kind of life.
The returnees escaped from their comrades and sought the help of a barangay official who turned them over to the Philippine Army’s 57th Infantry Batallion based in Makilala Cotabato.
The returnees were members of Pulang Bagani Command 2 (PBC2) under the NPA’s Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command (SMRC) whose areas of operations include the Eastern part of Magpet in North Cotabato and Marilog District Davao City.
Lieutenant Colonel Jose Rustia, Commanding Officer of the Philippine Army’s 57th IB said the rebel returnees include a team leader, three supply officers, and a 17-year-old girl who served as a medical officer.
Rustia said they are coordinating with the offices of the Provincial and the Magpet Municipal Social Welfare for possible livelihood assistance to the rebel returnees.
The rebel returnees are being subjected to debriefing and psycho-social intervention to help them cope with the normal life after months and years of being in the communist revolutionary movement.
