Patrolling soldiers of the 61 st Infantry Battalion discovered an abandoned camp of the New People's Army in Sitio Butanog, Brgy. Sura, Cauayan, Negros Occidental, while a rebel surrendered an assault rifle to the 61 st Infantry Battalion early this week, Lt. Col. Romeo Basco, 61 st IB commanding officer, said yesterday.

Basco also said the newly-abandoned rebel camp, that has an adjacent cave, could accommodate 20 to 30 persons.

Basco said the area has been used as a transit point of the rebels in transferring from one barangay to another during the May and October elections, and their venue of conferences, citing revelations of witnesses.

A certain Ka Jed whose real identity is being withheld by the military for security reasons, gave himself up to Basco and surrendered an M-16 assault rifle with a magazine containing 18 rounds of ammunition.

The surrender of Ka Jed who had joined the rebel movement in 1983 and laid low 10 years after, brought to five the number former rebels who surrendered a total of nine high-powered firearms to the 61 st IB since August, military records showed.

Basco said Ka Jed decided to formalize his surrender to avail of the government's Balik-Baril program and for him to start a new life without fear of being arrested for his previous association with the rebel movement.

Ka Jed is expected to receive P35,000 in exchange for the firearm he had surrendered, under the Balik-Baril program of the government.

He described the series of surrenders of five rebels with firearms as a positive development in their effort to convince members of the underground movement to abandon the armed struggle and live a normal life.

On the other hand, Basco said his men are continuously scouring the neighboring areas in Brgy. Sura, Cauayan, for other rebel satellite camps.*GPB

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