A married couple who held positions in the communist insurgency's regional structure in Eastern Visayas voluntarily surrendered to government forces, citing physical exhaustion, lack of basic necessities, and the armed movement's steady loss of support from the communities it once depended upon to survive.
The couple, identified by their aliases "Aga" (wife) and "Bigo" (husband), were members of the Sub-Regional Committee Sesame under the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC). Their surrender was announced by the Philippine Army's 8th Infantry Division (8ID) at Camp Lukban in Catbalogan City, Samar.
Years of Hardship Inside the Underground Movement
Bigo described life inside the movement as increasingly untenable — marked by constant movement, hiding from government forces, and the ever-present threat of death. He said the fear of leaving their children without parents weighed heavily on his decision to surrender.
Aga said the scarcity of food and other basic necessities had become severe, and that the loss of their arms cache further degraded their capacity to continue fighting. Both cited the cumulative toll of years spent in the mountains, cut off from family and normal civilian life.
Eroding Community Support Cited as the Decisive Factor
Beyond the physical hardships, both Aga and Bigo pointed to a deeper, structural problem: the movement's loss of its mass base.
"An pinaka-importante nga rason kon kay ano nga nagdesisyon kami nga bumiya, amo an hinay-hinay nga pagkawara han suporta han kilusan tikang ha mismo ha mga komunidad nga amon unta gin-aangkon nga gin-siserbisyuhan ngan gindudumara. An mga tawo ha lugar nagin mas maaram na han amon mga pamaagi ngan taktika, nga nagresulta hin padayon nga pagkawara han suporta han masa," Bigo said.
(The most significant reason why we decided to leave was the erosion of the movement's support among the very communities it once claimed to represent. The local population had grown aware of our schemes and tactics, resulting in a steady loss of mass base support.)
Without the cover, supplies, and sympathy once provided by local communities, the couple found themselves isolated — cut off from the support structure the insurgency had long relied on to sustain its operations in the region.
A Mother's Wish to Watch Her Children Grow
For Aga, the decision was also deeply personal. She expressed a longing to return to her children and resume the family life she had forfeited during her years in the hinterlands.
"Karuyag ko na yana nga mabuhi hin normal nga kinabuhi upod han akon pamilya. An akon la karuyag yana, amo an makaupod an akon mga anak ngan makita hira samtang nagtutubo, osa nga butang nga waray ko mahimo samtang nakadto pa ako ha kabukiran," Aga said.
(I want to live a normal life with my family. All I want now is to be there for my children and watch them grow up, something that I missed while I was in the mountains.)
Localized Peace Engagement Program Behind the Surrender
The 8th Infantry Division described the couple's surrender as a success of the government's Localized Peace Engagement (LPE) program, which works through community-level dialogue and outreach to encourage rebels to lay down their arms and return to civilian life.
According to the 8ID, the sustained cooperation of local communities and local government units (LGUs) has steadily eroded the insurgency's ability to operate, recruit, and rebuild mass support across Eastern Visayas. The armed group's operating space in the region, the military said, continues to shrink.
8ID Calls on Remaining Rebels to Surrender
The 8th Infantry Division appealed to rebels still hiding in the hinterlands to take advantage of government peace programs and return to their families while the opportunity remains available.
The military said the couple's experience reflects a broader pattern, with the New People's Army's remaining areas of influence in Eastern Visayas continuing to contract as community awareness of the group's tactics grows and local populations withdraw their cooperation from the movement.
Why This Matters
The surrender of two mid-level insurgency figures under the EVRPC underscores the effectiveness of community-driven peace engagement in weakening the NPA's operational capacity in Eastern Visayas. The couple's own testimony — that local communities had become aware of and resistant to the movement's schemes — signals an organic, ground-level shift that the military says is accelerating the insurgency's decline in the region. Their surrender brings Eastern Visayas closer to ending a decades-long internal armed conflict that has long disrupted communities across the area.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of 8th Infantry Division, Philippine Army