FOURTEEN COMMUNIST rebels operating in the hinterlands of this province surrendered to the military early Friday, the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) said in a statement over the weekend. “In our initial debriefing, it was found that the CTs (communist terrorists, as the rebels are so categorized) are members of Platoon TELEGO of the Guerilla Front 73, FSMR,” MGen Arnel B. Delavega, commander of the Joint Task Force Central said in the statement “The surrenderees(-)CTs had also turned over their firearms which consist of two caliber 30 garland rifles, one M14 rifle, one caliber 5.56 homemade tongram, and one caliber 45 pistol,” he added. Two days before the surrender, another group of nine rebels had also surrendered to the government forces WesMinCom said it has recorded at least 31 surrenderers since the start of the year. For his part, Lt. Gen. Carlito G. Galvez, Jr, WesMinCom commander, said, “We anticipate a surging number in the coming days.” — Albert F. Arcilla

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