‘Dead’ Philippine rebel surrenders

MANILA, Philippines - A New People’s Army (NPA) rebel who was reportedly killed in an encounter 13 years ago surrendered last Tuesday and gave military officers a pre-Halloween scare. Forty-two-year-old Jesus Saklit, alias Ka Brando, said he voluntarily surrendered to the Naval Forces West in the western Philippine province of Palawan because he no longer wants to live the life of a fugitive. Personnel from the Naval Forces West were “surprised" to see Saklit. “We were surprised. The Armed Forces is surprised and maybe even the NPAs that he would surface because he has been long inactive," said Marine Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, the Navy spokesman. Arevalo said Saklit has been an active member of the communist guerrilla army until 1995 when the military declared him dead following a gunbattle with Marine soldiers in Palawan. “He was delisted from the Order of Battle when he was declared dead after an encounter with Marines that year (1995)," the official said, referring to the military’s list of communist rebels. Saklit reportedly told soldiers upon his surrender that he just went into hiding. “He (Saklit) moved from one place to another," Arevalo said. He said Saklit had been to Mindoro, Iloilo and even to Quezon City in metropolitan Manila where he worked as a butcher. He said Saklit returned to Palawan because he has a property in Roxas town. Arevalo said Saklit will be turned over to the military’s Civil Relations Group in Palawan for his subsequent re-integration into mainstream society. “He would be given a seminar on livelihood," he said. - GMANews.TV