COTABATO, Philippines (Xinhua) - Four Philippine leftist rebels, including a commander, have surrendered to the Philippine military in the southern Philippines, the military said on Tuesday. The rebel returnees, including Commander Renie Panganuron Egsulan, were all under the new Peoples Army's Front Committee 27 in Mawab Town in Compostella Valley province.
The rebels were tired of their life of being always on the run, and missing their loved ones, said regional military spokesman Randolph Cabangbang. The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for four decades.
The military estimates the NPA strength at more than 4,000 men scattered in more than 60 guerrilla fronts throughout the country. Peace talks between the government and the leftists bogged down in 2004 after the United States included the NPA and its parent body as foreign terrorist organizations.
