Filipino communist insurgent leader, nine followers surrender in northeastern Mindanao
Low morale, lack of direction and exhaustion make them give up.
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: A high-ranking Filipino communist insurgent leader and his nine members have surrendered to the Army in northeastern Mindanao’s Butuan City.
The leader of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP-NPA), and his followers, surrendered to the 23rd Infantry Battalion (23IB) under the operational control of the 402nd Infantry Brigade (402Bde), both units under the 4th Infantry Division (4ID), on Monday (April 24), said 4ID in a statement Wednesday (Apr 26).
23IB commanding officer Lt. Col. Jeffrey P. Balingao disclosed that the surrendered personalities belonged to the “Headquarters Force NEO, Regional Sentro De Gravidad COMPAQ, and Sub-Regional Committee 1 (SRC1)”, all under the so-called North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC) of the CPP-NPA.
Lino Atipan Namatidong a.k.a. Dahon was identified as the commanding officer of Headquarters Force (HQF) Neo. Along with him were his wife, Reyna Nanganlag “Miray/Snooky” Namatidong, a regional staffmember for education and propaganda; Nestor Panhayan “Labni/Jono” Namatidong; Ronie Namatidong “Allan” Polistico; Lyka Namulanta “Jelly” Lagaolao; Besto “Lagbas” Tumanan; Gay-gaya “Longhair” Tumanan; Ronald Abalang “Onad” Dungogan; Angleo Lomakin “Selda” Pal-ot; and Jerry Pinatubas “CJ” Inantag.
They also yielded 10 high-powered and low-powered firearms consisting of two M16 rifles, three shotguns, one AK47 rifle, two M203 grenade launchers, one carbine rifle and one Garand rifle.
Balingao also said that the couple, considered high-value individuals, revealed that low morale, lack of direction and exhaustion made them give up and peacefully surrender.
Brig. Gen. Adonis Ariel G. Orio, the 402Bde commander, said that the fall of the “HQF Neo” leadership, once a leadership stronghold, has confirmed the imminent downfall of the communist terror group’s NCMRC and resulted in the disarray of the CPP-NPA in the northern Mindanao region.
He underscored the said success as a manifestation of the effective collaboration between the Army and its civilian partners.