ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Security officials said 16 members of the New People's Army—including two alleged child soldiers—surrendered to the military in Guipos town, Zamboanga del Sur on Wednesday.
The Philippines is signatory to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which also prohibits non-state armed groups from recruiting anyone under the age of 18 for any purpose.
Maj. Gen. Roseiller Murillo, commander of the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Labangan town, said the rebels yielded to the 53rd Infantry Battalion at Camp Major David Sabido, Barangay Poblacion.
Murillo said a tactical debriefing of those who surrendered found that most of them decided to give up due to the hardship of life in the jungle. He said the former rebels also realized they had been victims of NPA propaganda on poverty and government neglect.
'Alias Cel'
Lt. Col. Marlowe Patria, commanding officer of the 53rd IB, reported that one of those who surrendered was a woman who was a freshman college student taking up Education when she joined the NPA.
"Alias Cel was forced to stop because of the propaganda and exploit of the NPA. She had long stopped from going to school after she was recruited," Patria said.
Patria said "Cel" expressed regrets over joining the NPA. He said she told him that she wishes she had pursued her studies instead.
"Cel" was one of four women among those who surrendered.
Murillo also said that those who surrendered said they have been intimidated into joining the NPA and that only "hardcore" members received shares from the NPA's alleged extortion activities.
He said most of those who surrendered were from the NPA's Sectoral Command KARA (Secom-KARA) of the Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee. He said the alleged rebels operated in the municipalities of Midsalip, Pagadian, Tigbao, Lakewood, Lapuyan and San Miguel.