DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental- An active member of the New People’s Army (NPA) who is also the commander of a Local Guerilla Unit Front in Central Negros surrendered to the Philippine Army (PA), earlier today, Thursday, April 16, 2020.
Jone Moreno a.k.a Roy, 33 a resident of Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan, Negros Occidental said he returned to the folds of the law due to false promises, hunger, and exhaustion.
The joint efforts of the 62nd Infantry Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Melvin Flores and Lieutenant Colonel Randy Pagunuran commanding officer of the 94th Infantry Battalion facilitated Moreno’s surrender.
A military report to Colonel Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade Commander noted that the surrenderer turned over to the government an M16 rifle with one (1) magazine, one (1) .45 caliber pistol with two (2) magazines, assorted ammunition and one (1)- ICOM handheld radio with accessories.
The NPA local guerrilla leader revealed that the continuous hardships, hunger and false promises of NPA leaders have prompted him to surrender.
He also revealed the alleged continuous exploitation of the NPA among the masses in the outlying sitios of Central Negros and the involvement of a certain local official in facilitating the transport of logistics and ranking NPA communist leaders.
Moreno is now undergoing custodial and stress debriefing prior to his enrollment to the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) in order to receive immediate welfare assistance, livelihood assistance, and incentives for the surrendered firearms.
“The surrender of Jone Moreno adds-up to the increasing number of New People’s Army and Militia ng Bayan who finally woke-up from the deceptions of the CPP-NPA-NDF and decided to come out for good and avail the amnesty program of the government,” Flores said.
Meanwhile, Pasaporte appealed to the rebels to follow the example set by Moreno.
“Your Army in Negros is encouraging other members of the NPA to abandon the armed struggle, it is high time to abandon the communist terrorist organization and avail the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) program being offered by our government,” Pasaporte said. /rcg