13 leftist rebels surrender to Philippine authorities

Thirteen suspected members of leftist rebel group New People's Army (NPA) have surrendered to military in southern Philippine province of Compostela Valley, local military said Saturday. Major General Ariel Bernardo, commander of the Philippine Army' s 10th Infantry Agila Division, said the rebels surrendered Saturday morning to the 66th Infantry Battalion based in Cabinuangan, New Bataan, Compostela Valley. Six of those who returned to the fold came from the NPA's Front Committee 15, while seven others from its Front Committee 20, all of them belong to NPA-Southern Mindanao Regional Committee, Bernardo said, adding that two of them were females. "The former rebels are now undergoing custodial debriefing and documentation so that they can avail of the government's Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP) for them to start a new peaceful life," he said. The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was formed on March 29, 1969. Latest military estimates placed the NPA's strength at more than 4,000.