Former NPA medic reunites with family after 6 years

Marilyn, a former NPA medic who surrendered to the Army’s 65th Infantry Battalion, gets a hug from her mother while her father sits beside them during a tearful reunion on 6 July 2023 after six years of separation. Photo courtesy of 65IB, PA.

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 11 July) – A female New People’s Army (NPA) medic, the fourth member of their family who yielded to the Philippine Army, was reunited with her parents and six siblings after six years in the underground armed movement.

1^st Lt. Jade Bryce Buñe, civil military officer of  the 29^th Infantry Battalion(29IB) based in Cabadbaran City, said that Marilyn Mandag alias Mica, 23, and her live-in partner Dindo Kusong, alias Kalibo, surrendered to the 65^th Infantry Battalion (65IB) on July 4.

Marilyn is the last member of her family who surrendered to the government.

Her parents left the communist guerilla movement and returned to the fold of the law on January 16, 2020. Her sister, Rudilyn Mandag, surrendered on September 18, 2021.

All of them joined the communist movement in 2017, Buñe said.

Upon receiving a phone call from their daughter Marilyn, her parents, Roberto and Lisa Mandag, requested the 29IB to arrange a visit to their daughter, who is under the protective custody of the 65IB. 

They met on July 6.

Buñe said that Marilyn would benefit from the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), contrary to the claims of active NPA rebels.

E-CLIP is a package of cash incentives meant to entice members of the NPA to surface, return to the fold of the law, and start a peaceful life anew, together with their respective families.

Buñe quoted Marilyn in a recorded statement as saying: “Nalipay man ko nga nakitan-an nako ang akoang ginikanan, mga igsoon ug mga mahal sa kinabuhi, kay sa katong didto pa mi sa sulod kay wala man mi gihatagan ug katungod nga makatawag sa akoang pamilya ug makita man lang sila kay wala sa amoang doktrina (I am happy when I saw my parents, my siblings and my relatives. We are not allowed to call nor even to see them while in the movement, as the doctrine prohibits it.)

She claimed in her statement that she was duped into believing by their commander, identified as Ka Mackoy/Dindo, that her mother was already dead and her father was incarcerated in a hog cage after they surrendered.

Marilyn is the second eldest among seven siblings, with Rudilyn, 28, as the eldest. Their younger siblings are aged 20, 18, 16, 13 and 10.

Marilyn and her partner have been placed under the protective custody of the 65IB while their documents for application as E-CLIP beneficiaries are still being processed.

Her parents and Rudilyn have earlier availed of the E-CLIP.

The father is now a member of the Special Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit Active Auxiliary (SCAA) while Rudilyn is still training to become a member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit Active Auxiliary (CAA).

Lt Col. Cresencio C. Gargar, 29IB commander, called on the remaining comrades of Marilyn and Dindo to surrender and start a new life in mainstream society. (Cris V. Panganiban / MindaNews)

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