Philippine communist assassin surrenders
Jose Maria is Bicol region's second-most wanted person.
MANILA: An alleged top assassin of the Philippine communist insurgent group has surrendered to government forces.
The suspect from the New People’s Army (NPA) identified only as Jose Maria surrendered to the Philippine Army’s 903rd Infantry Battalion in San Rafael village, Castilla, Sorsogon province on February 23, said the police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief, Maj. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr., said in a statement on Tuesday.
The CIDG then served an arrest warrant against him for three counts of illegal possession of firearms.
Jose Maria, also Bicol region's second-most wanted person, served as the commanding officer of the NPA's Special Partisan Unit (SPARU) Provincial Unit Guerilla (PYG) under its Bicol Regional Party Committee.
“The surrender of Jose Maria is a sign of the government's effective campaign in encouraging rebels to return to the fold of the law,” said Caramat.
The Philippine National Police chief, General Benjamin Acorda Jr., in a separate statement, said 15,092 NPA members surrendered to authorities from 2022 to Jan. 31 this year.
The government, Acorda said, also gained ground in its campaign against terrorism, with the recent surrender of a member of the pro-Islamic State Maute Group and the arrest of a terrorism financing woman facilitator.
“These accomplishments contribute to the diligent work of dismantling terrorist networks and disrupting the flow of funds that support acts of terror. These developments underscore the effectiveness of our resolute military operations in the fight against terrorism,” he said.
The Philippines is grappling with both religious and communist terrorism, the latter the world’s longest ongoing communist insurgency.
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