NPA vice squad leader surrenders to military in Bulacan

June 22, 2020

A vice squad leader of New People's Army (NPA) surrendered to government forces last Friday, a military spokesman said Monday.

Capt. Jayrald Ternio,  public affairs chief of the 2nd Infantry Division, said alias Zion, the vice squad leader  surrendered to combined forces from the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division and Bulacan police at San Jose Del Monte City on Friday.

"The true identity of the former rebel is being withheld as part of the security protocol to protect surrenders from possible retaliatory actions from their former comrades," he said.

According to Col.  Alex Rillera, commander of the 202nd Infantry Brigade Zion, the vice squad leader surrendered after they shifted their campaign’s focus in Bulacan following the clearing of affected areas in Calabarzon.

“The NPA’s act of turning over his 5.56mm Bushmaster automatic rifle with ammunition as he returns to the folds of law is expected based on our campaign’s timeline since the NPAs are running out of space due to our unrelenting focused military operations and aggressive civil-military operations that have eroded the mass base support which they used to enjoy”, he said.

Rillera said additional forces will be deployed in the area to “increase operational tempo and exploit our momentum so that the few remaining terrorists who will refuse to choose the path of peace will finally be decimated.”

Ternio said despite being part of Region 3, San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan is under the operational jurisdiction of the 2nd Infantry Division which primarily covers Southern Tagalogto address the NPAs use of the Sierra Madre mountain range in Metro Manila’s eastern boundary for their inter-regional mobility.

"Most of Central Luzon is under the operational jurisdiction of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division based in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija," he said.

Major General Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr, Commander of the 2nd Infantry Division lauded the close coordination and collaboration between and among the PNP and the military forces. Robina Asido/DMS