3 NPA rebels surrender to military to go to school

Three members of the New People’s Army in Sultan Kudarat have surrendered to the 33rd Infantry Battalion, as posted by its official Facebook page.

In the post, it was mentioned that the three former rebels were received by Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, the Commanding Officer of the battalion.

The three rebels are siblings Ryan Mama, 24, and Daniel Mama, 25, along with their cousin, Ruben Pagiloy, 21.

Ryan told Cabunoc that Ka Yoyo, the Visayan NPA commander promised to give them fertilizer and seedlings, as well as a formal education. However, this promise was not fulfilled, which was why they decided to leave the mountains and surrender. Ryan has three children.

Those who have surrendered plan to get their diploma via the Alternative Learning System under the Department of Education.

All three ho surrendered are Lumads of Manobo. Cabunoc said that the rebels mostly recruit Lumads.

“Visayan communist recruiters penetrated the lumad communities using legal organizations like CLANS, MISFI, KALUMARAN and KALUHAMIN. They indoctrinated the people to hate the government, prompting many of them to join the armed group,” said Cabunoc.

Cabunoc aims to get the people on his side and support the government.

Read the full post here:

"Finding no school in NPA camps, 3 lumads surrender to the Army

BAGUMBAYAN, Sultan Kudarat— After a year of waiting for the arrival of school teachers in a hinterland rebel camp, three Manobo NPA rebels decided to abandon the armed violence that is taught to them by their communist recruiters.

Siblings Ryan Mama, 24, and Daniel, 25, descended from their forest lair in this town together with cousin Ruben Pagiloy, 21, to formally surrender to the government on December 28 (Thu). They were received by Lt Col Harold M Cabunoc, the Commanding Officer of the 33rd Infantry (Makabayan) Battalion, at around 2:30 pm of the same day.

Ryan said that Ka Yoyo, the Visayan NPA commander, has not fulfilled his promises to the new recruits.

“He promised me that he will provide my family with fertilizer and seedlings. Most importantly, I was interested in getting a formal education from school teachers that he said, will come to share new skills and knowledge to us,” said Ryan, a young father of three children.

Meanwhile, Pagiloy said that he was elated by the promise of earning a school diploma from licensed teachers.

“I never set foot in a government-run school. I grabbed the opportunity of widening my understanding about the world, especially the problems confronted by the tribe today,” said Pagiloy in Ilonggo.

All three surrenderors are still interested to pursue their studies through the Alternative Learning System (ALS) that is offered by the Department of Education.

Militarization of the lumad

Manipulating the land conflict between the Dulangan Manobo tribe claimants and the management of Consunji Family’s M and S Company, the communist terrorists lured the lumads in joining the New People’s Army.

“Visayan communist recruiters penetrated the lumad communities using legal organizations like CLANS, MISFI, KALUMARAN and KALUHAMIN. They indoctrinated the people to hate the government, prompting many of them to join the armed group,” said Cabunoc.

Cabunoc also said that majority of the communist terrorists in his area of responsibility are lumads.

“About 90% of the members of the Guerilla Front 73 of the communist terrorist organization here in Sultan Kudarat are indigenous people. This is reflected by the fact that 100% of this year's 94 surrenderors belong to the Dulangan Manobo and T’boli tribe,” explained Cabunoc.

Unity of effort

The 33rd Infantry Battalion has combined a mix of combat operations and community support operations in its counterinsurgency campaign in its area of jurisdiction.

Cabunoc said that his goal is to win the support of the people in favor of the government.

“The decisive terrain in an insurgency is human terrain. We need to dominate in the battle of opinion, in touching the hearts of the populace, and in getting the support of the people. To achieve this, the civil government and the military establishment must synergize their efforts towards a common goal,” Cabunoc explained."

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Source: Facebook