Rebel now happy with his new life as surrenderee

ORAS, Eastern Samar – A rebel returnee said that he is happy with his decision to return to the folds of law as he can now move freely unlike when he was still a member of the communist group.
In an interview with Antonio Burac, he said that his present life after surrendering to the military is much different now as he is given to live a normal life with the support he is receiving from his former enemies.

Burac, who is now 38 years old, was a former vice squad leader of Omega Platoon of Section Committee North East (SNE) of the Eastern Samar Provincial Party Committee under Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC) of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Burac surrendered sometime in 2009 and in January of this year he surrendered a M16 rifle with 10 rounds of ammunitions to the elements of the 14th Infantry Battalion based in Oras, Eastern Samar.

At present, Burac is living under the protection of the 14th IB together with his wife, who is also a former member of the rebel group and their children who were now back on studying.

After surrendering to the government, Burac and his wife promised to support the peace and development program of the government particularly in the province of Eastern Samar after they had proved that the government is sincere when they were given another chance to live in a democratic and normal life.

Based on the accounts of Burac on how he joined the communist group, he related that it was his relatives who convinced him to join the rebel groups in 2003 but decided to surrender through the help of his cousins who were asked by the members of the 14th IB to convince him to surrender.

His decision to surrender was also backed by his experience inside the communist group where the promises and what was taught to them when they were being convinced was totally different from the reality when they are already inside the communist groups.

“The theory they are teaching was good but in the practical implementation of the theory we noticed that it was in contrast to their teaching,” said Burac in his native language.

Presently, the rebel returnee is provided with an initial amount to start a livelihood for him and his family inside the military camp that was provided by the Social Welfare Office of the municipal government of Oras with the help of their municipal mayor. (Roel Amazona)