NATONIN, Mountain Province – A young rebel voluntarily surrendered to police authorities after he was reportedly tired of hiding from pursuing government forces in the mountains of the Cordillera.
Senior Superintendent Oliver Enmodias, director of the Mountain Province provincial police office, identified the rebel returnee as Gerome Vinas Palmero a.k.a. Jonathan, 18, a resident of Barangay Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City.
He surrendered without firearms without firearms to the elements of the Natonin municipal police station recently. His surrender was made possible through the assistance of SPO2 Esteban Basbasan, Jr. and the barangay officials of Balangao, Natonin, Mountain Province in coordination with the municipal social welfare and development office.
He joined the Underground Movement on November 2014 and later joined the group in conducting mass activities and no participation but had no active participation in any atrocity initiated by the rebel movement in the different parts of the region.
Enmodias said the young rebel got tired of living a bizzare life in the mountains that is why with just few months in the communist movement, he already gave up and voluntarily surrendered to the law enforcers.
“We are elated that our brothers and sisters in the communist movement are now realizing that they were simply hoodwinked by their recruiters in joining the guerrilla group,” Enmodias stressed.
The remote villages of Mountain Province are one of the strongholds of the New Peoples Army (NPA) over the past several decades after they were able to enjoy the confidence of the people.
However, because of the fast paced development in the ountryside, people have now abandonded their support to the communist movement and have embraced lawful living in order to have peace of mind in their daily lives.
Enmodias called on the remaining remnants of the communist movement to embrace peaceful living by giving up their arms in order to achieve lasting peace in the coyuntrysicde.
He claimed interested rebels wanting to go back to mainstream society must get in touch with the nearest police station in their place so that appropriate assistance will be extended to them or seek the assistance of their trsuted friends and relatives to facilitate their surrender.
By Dexter A. See
