Rising from perdition
The Philippine Army’s 1003rd Infantry Battalion, also known as the Raptor Brigade, is celebrating new lives saved from the atrocities and violence of the communist armed group, New People’s Army. Coinciding with the first anniversary of the total dismantling of the NPA’s Sub-Regional Committee 5, 1003rd brigade commander BGen. Consolito Yecla said the downfall of the communist group would give young people a chance to see what’s ahead of them, especially those residing in NPA-infiltrated communities.
“We saved their lives and we saved the future of their children. I would like to clarify that the essence of commemorating the downfall of SRC5 is not really to emphasize the victory but to emphasize the time that we saved the personnel of the SRC5,” Yecla said.
It may be recalled that Ida Marie Montero, alias Ka Mandy, and the entire leadership of SRC5 surrendered to the 1003rd Infantry Brigade at Mount Minalong, Kitaotao, Bukidnon on 13 January 2022, which led to the eventual collapse of the rebel group.
Out of darkness
Upon surrendering, Ka Mandy expressed her gratitude to the soldiers and the government for saving them from the path of darkness.
“The brigade has introduced methods to reintegrate us into mainstream society. We thanked the Philippine Army for doing this for us, that finally we have awakened to the truth,” Ka Mandy said in the vernacular.
In defeating SRC5, the Raptor Brigade boasted that it had incurred no combat casualties, no firearms lost, and no human rights violations.
In its Periodic Status Report, the brigade said it had not confronted any NPA rebel group in their area of jurisdiction since March last year to date.
We saved their lives and we saved the future of their children.