ZAMBOANGA CITY — A member of the New People’s Army (NPA) has yielded to authorities in Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur, military officials said Friday.
Lt. Col. Marlowe Patria, the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion commander, identified the surrenderer only as a certain Ka Pipoy, a member of Platoon Basil of the NPA’s Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee.
Patria said Pipoy gave himself up on Tuesday and turned over two AK-47 assault rifles.
“The initial custodial debriefing found out that he (Pipoy) was tired of hiding and evading our troops,” he said.
“Rest assured that we will enroll and facilitate him to the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) of the government,” he added.
Major Gen. Roseller Murillo, the Army’s 1st Infantry Division commander, has commended the troops for the success of their campaign that led to Pipoy’s surrender.
He called on other communist rebels to yield and take advantage of the benefits being offered by the government through the E-CLIP.
“It will provide them an opportunity to return into mainstream society and together, we will solve their problems in a peaceful way,” added Murillo, who is also commander of Joint Task Force Zampelan (Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao). (Teofilo Garcia, Jr./PNA)
