DAVAO CITY – Romeo Abella y Clarion Jr @ Jay, the Vice Commanding Officer of GF55, SRC 5, SMRC under @ Marikit, front secretary, voluntarily surrendered to the troops of 89th Infantry (MAKATAO) Battalion at Quarry Detachment, Sitio Quarry, Brgy Magwawa,Sto Tomas,DDN around 12:30 in the afternoon of September 19 2019 while conducting reconnaissance at Barangay Magwawa to monitor the movement of Army troops. He also surrendered to the military his M16 rifle with SN l520907, 7 long magazines with 138 rounds of live ammunition and a hand held radio.
@Jay decided to escape from his group and to surrender because of difficulties and psychological pressure from the intensive military operation in the area, as well as from obvious inequalities within their organization. According to him, he is already tired of the social disparity in their movement wherein front secretary like @ Marikit enjoys perks and privileges denied to ordinary members.
This is true even with food rations where they are contented with coffee or sometimes hot water while their leaders, particularly @ marikit and her husband Rommel, enjoy hot chocolates, Marlboro cigarettes and other foodstuffs. Further, the sustained military operation of the unit brought additional hardship to them in their already difficult life in the mountains putting the CTG on the run and causing demoralization among their ranks.
LTC TRASMONTERO, Bn Commander, 89IB welcomed the surrenderee and acknowledged his right decision to return to the fold of law. Under the government’s EO 70 or popularly known as the institutionalization of the “whole of nation approach”, he will be able to avail of various interventions particularly on poverty reduction to help improve his economic condition. The unit will ensure that he will be a beneficiary of the E-CLIP and various programs of the government for former rebels. The Bn Commander also calls for the surrender of @Jay’s comrades while they still have the opportunity to do so. Otherwise, they will be relentlessly hunted down.
