PILI, Camarines Sur, Feb. 4 - The strength of the communist movement operating in Camarines Sur was cut down following the surrender of two ranking New People's Army rebels to Philippine Army (PA), the Army Bikol spokesman said on Thursday.
Those who surrendered were identified as Jolito Caneso, 33, his brother Benjamin, 34, all native of Bula town in Camarines Sur.
Army Maj. Harold Cabunoc, 9ID Spokesman, said that two rebels surrendered to the 42nd Infantry Battalion, PA based in Nabua, Camarines Sur, on Wednesday morning.
Cabunoc said Jolito Caneso was the vice commander of Milisya ng Bayan at Bgy San Francisco, Bula, Camarines Sur while his brother was a member of the group.
With the surrender of the two rebels the government forces scored anew against the local communist group in Bikol, he said.
The two rebels said that they were the couriers/collectors of the communist movement's revolutionary tax in the said locality.
They claimed to be working for a certain Vicente Avocado, a ranking member of the local rebel group. They are now undergoing custodial debriefing at the headquarters of 42nd Infantry Battalion.
The Caneso brothers claimed that they were already fed up by the infighting among their leaders fueled by the unsettled differences over the distribution of their tax collections.
"It is only our ranking leaders who get the huge sum of our monthly earnings from the revolutionary tax collection," Jolito Caneso said.
"We are already ashamed to feed our family members with the money coming from the poor farmers in our village," said Benjamin.
Cabunoc said that with the Canesos, a total of 61 rebels had returned to the folds of the law in Bikol.
In Catanduanes, the intelligence operatives of the 83rd Infantry Battalion under Lt. Col. Romeo Basco, captured a certain Victor Espiritu, 27, the squad leader of a rebel group in Bgy Tariwara, Pandan, Catanduanes.
Espiritu admitted that he was among the NPA bandits who waylaid the unarmed members of 31st IB whom they ambushed while buying provisions in the public market in Ragay, Camarines Sur early last year.
The said ambush claimed the lives of three soldiers identified as Pfc Caronan, Pfc Bagao and Pfc Caitor.
Espiritu is now undergoing tactical interrogation at headquarters 83rd Infantry Battalion. He was accompanied by his mother and the barangay councilman of Pandan municipality.(PNA)