3 more NPAs yield; new 6th ID head says more soon

► Maj. Gen. Roy Galido is set to assume office this week

► Danilo Englateria was a ranking NPA leader operating in Daguma ranges in Sultan Kudarat

► Gen. Galido wish to address reintergration of former rebels to mainstream society

COTABATO CITY -- Among the concerns the new 6^th Infantry Division Commander needs to address first are the reintegration to society of former state enemies and the need for outreach missions for impoverished communities.

More than a hundred New People’s Army guerillas, among them members of ethnic groups in central Mindanao, have surrendered in batches to units of 6^th ID in the past nine months.

Col. Michael Santos, commander of the 603^rd Infantry Brigade, said Wednesday three more NPAs yielded over the weekend through the efforts of the 37^th Infantry Battalion and local officials in the adjoining Lebak, Kalamansig and Palimbang towns in Sultan Kudarat province.

The three NPAs - Danilo Englateria, Jr, who is secretary of the NPAs self-styled East Daguma Front, and followers Argelo Galaan and Norma Dolunan - turned in firearms and pledged allegiance to the government before Kalamansig Mayor Joaquin Concha, Lt. Col. John Paul Baldomar of the 37^th IB and his immediate superior, Santos.

Major Gen. Roy Galido, the new commander of 6^th ID, said Wednesday he will sustain the division’s domestic peace efforts with the NPA and local extremist groups that his predecessor, the now retired Major Gen. Juvymax Uy and those before him have focused serious attention on. 

“That is one of the serious concerns I need to do something about. I shall emulate the good examples of past 6^th ID commanders,” he said.

He said he is thankful to the 37^th IB and the 603^rd Infantry Brigade for securing the surrender of Englateria and his two followers.

“Units of 6th ID have been getting a lot of surrender feelers. Barring undue circumstances, we shall see more surrenders of NPAs soon,” Galido said.

Galido said the 6^th ID and its units shall also embark on more extensive humanitarian missions, via the Army’s civil-military operations thrust, for needy sectors in far-flung areas.

He cited as example how dozens of Muslim and Christian families benefitted from an outreach mission last week of soldiers and local officials in Kalamansig.

Residents of barangays Sabanal and Sangay, both in Kalamansig, got from soldiers under Baldomar and Santos and personnel of the Kalamansig municipal government free medical and dental interventions during the two-day public service engagement last week.

The outreach activity, supported by the Assembly of God Church and community leaders in Barangays Sabanal and Sangay, served 589 people, among them pregnant women and lactating mothers.

“These are the kind of activities that can help convince people fighting the government that we have a government sincere in serving constituents regardless of tribal affiliations and religions,” Galido said.