BACOLOD CITY - A couple and their comrade in the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) have recently surrendered to the 6th Special Action Battalion (6SAB) of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP SAF) based in Sagay City, Negros Occidental.

On Monday afternoon, the surrenderers were presented to the City Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (CTF-ELCAC) chaired by Mayor Alfredo Maranon III in rites held at Balay Kauswagan, four days after they turned themselves in on February 10.

Lt. Col. Ryan Manongdo, commander of 6SAB, told the Philippine News Agency the former rebels will remain in their custody while they are completing the requirements to avail of the benefits under the Enhanced Community Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

"We assure the three individuals and their families we will do everything in our capacity to help them improve their lives through the programs of the government. I hope their surrender will inspire the other members of the communist-terrorist group to lay down their arms," he said.

Those who surrendered were Ka "Nike" and his partner Ka "Aiza", and their comrade Ka "Allan".

Manongdo said the couple belonged to the NPA's South West Front (SWF) operating in the southern part of Negros Occidental, who engaged the 6SAB troops in Ilog town last September.

The clash claimed the lives of four rebels and injured two others.

Ka "Nike", previously a squad leader of the Northern Negros Front (NNF), met Ka "Aiza" when he was deployed to the SWF, where she was assigned as an assistant medic and participated in the NPA's recruitment activities in the towns of Hinoba an, Ilog, Candoni and Kabankalan City.

Thinking about the future of their two-year-old son, the couple surrendered to pursue a peaceful life, the 6SAB said.

Ka "Allan", who was under the NNF, was conducting was mass work activities in several towns and cities in the northern portion of the province before his surrender.

According to the 6SAB, he is already tired of fighting for a lost cause and wants to live a normal life.

In Negros Occidental, the 6SAB has been implementing the counter "white area" operations in Barangay Guintubhan, Isabela; Sitio Balik Balik in Barangay Tabu, Ilog; and Sitio Manara, Barangay Puey, Sagay City to reach out to communities currently or formerly influenced by the CPP-NPA.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as "an integral and inseparable part" of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973. (PNA)