NPA-Agusan spokesman surrenders

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – An alleged spokesman for the New People’s Army in Agusan del Norte has surrendered to  authorities following intensified military operations in Buenavista town.

Armando Ravanes, alias Ka Omar Ibarra, surrendered to the Army’s 23rd Infantry Battalion on Dec. 9 after the military dismantled a rebel camp in Sitio Tacub, Barangay Rizal, according to Col. Julius Caesar Paulo, chief of the 23rd IB.

Troopers seized the camp after engaging the rebels in a firefight that resulted in the recovery of several firearms, ammunition and improvised explosive devices.

Ravanes was reportedly a protégé of NPA-Mindanao spokesman Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, who was killed in an encounter in Bukidnon in October.