DAVAO CITY – A full-time member of Front Guerilla Unit, GF 53, and also the Team Leader of NPA’s Special Partisan Unit (SPARU) voluntarily surrendered to the Army Troopers. The 72nd Infantry Battalion thru the efforts of the Community Support Program (CSP) Teams and with the help of the relatives and his immediate family members, a certain Harold Adjiaton, 30 years old, married, a resident of Brgy Balite, Magpet, North Cotabato made his way to return to the folds of the law without reservation and conditions. During his surrender, @Harold yielded a Caliber 45 pistol with ammunitions and a hand grenade.
The 72IB facilitated his voluntary surrender in Poblacion, Magpet and immediately undergone Custodial Debriefing at the Battalion Headquarters in Brgy Pangao-an, Magpet, Cotabato for his safety. Two days after his surrender, on October 1, 2019, the former rebel revealed the Armed Group’s arms cache with explosives that they entrusted to some trusted Underground Mass Organization (UGMO) members in the area. With the reliable information gathered from the FR, the 72IB Intel operatives recovered four (4) High Powered Firearms (HPFAs) with magazines and ammunitions somewhere in Matalam, North Cotabato.
Moreover, due to persistent conduct of debriefing, the troops again recovered in another location voluminous assorted ammunitions and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) hidden somewhere in a barangay of Pres Roxas, North Cotabato. The assorted war materials were hidden by trusted UGMO members several meters away from their house waiting for the comrades to retrieve it. Accordingly, @Harold decided to surrender because he felt pressure from the Focused Military Operations and the CSP immersion conducted by the 72IB in Magpet, Pres Roxas, and Kidapawan deployed particularly in their formers mass bases.
Ltc Rey Alvarado, Commander of 72IB lauded the efforts of the Men and Women of 72IB to include its OPCON units who are instrumental to peaceful return of @Harold and the recovery of assorted HPFAs, ammunitions and IEDs. “It is a step closer to ending local communist armed conflict in the Municipality of Magpet and and adjacent municipalities.
The surrender of @Harold manifests that members of the CPP armed group have had enough on their deception and fraud to the people of North Cotabato which also brought them no comfort but tormenting struggles in the mountains”, Ltc Alvarado said. 72IB Commander also called out to the remaining members of GF53 to lay down their arms, return to their families, live peacefully in their communities and return to the folds of the law and avail the E-CLIP program of the government.