4 NPAs in South Cotabato surrender to military

COTABATO CITY - Four members of the New People’s Army surrendered one after another in the past four days to the 5^th Special Forces Battalion and turned in firearms before each pledged allegiance to the government.

Major Gen. Roberto Capulong of the Army’s 6^th Infantry said Tuesday the four NPAs from three different towns in South Cotabato yielded through the efforts of municipal officials and Lt. Col. Zandro Alvez, commanding officer of the 5^th SF Battalion.

In a report to 6^th ID’s headquarters in Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao, Alvez said the four NPAs yielded assault rifles, a .45 pistol, a vintage Thompson submachinegun before each promised to reform for good in the presence of Army officials and community leaders in South Cotabato’s adjoining Lake Sebu, Tboli and Banga municipalities.

One of them yielded an old Belgian FN caliber 7.62 assault rifle.

The four guerillas belonged to the NPA’s self-styled Guerilla Front 73-Far South Mindanao Region Command.

No fewer than 80 NPAs in South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat provinces have surrendered to units of 6^th ID in the past 14 months.