Nineteen members of the New People’s Army (NPA) voluntarily surrendered to Mayor Dario Otaza of Loreto, Agusan del Sur, the local police, and military personnel from the the 26th Infantry Battalion, 4ID of the Philippine Army.

According to police reports, the rebels surrendered in two batches.

The first batch, composed of 15 rebels, yielded at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. They came from Guerilla Front Committee -89 of the North Central Mindanao Revolutionary Committee under a certain Tumbow Telocan, alias “Watiwit” of Mandalikan, Kabanglasan, Bukidnon.

The second batch, composed of four rebels, surrendered at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday. They were from Guerilla Front-34 of the Southern Mindanao Revolutionary Committee headed by a certain Commander Maximo Catarata alias “Datu Makatindug” operating at Kasapa 2, La Paz in Agusan del Sur.

The rebels also turned over their firearms and equipment to Loreto Municipal Police Station. These include three Springfield rifles, an improvised caliber .22 rifle, 10 caliber .38 revolvers, an improvised 5.56 pistol, a gauge 12 shotgun, two caliber .38 revolvers, and a caliber .22 revolver. All surrendered firearms, which bear defaced serial numbers, will be subjected for Ballistic Examination and records verification by the Crime Laboratory.

Police Regional Office 13 CARAGA Director Police Chief Superintendent David Yalong Ombao welcomed the rebel returnees.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) will appropriate intervention and livelihood program grants for them.