TACLOBAN CITY — The Philippine Army on Tuesday revealed that more members of the New People’s Army in Northern Samar are laying down their arms and returning to mainstream society as counterinsurgency operations in the province intensified following the deployment of more troops in the whole Samar island.

Capt. Jefferson Mariano, spokesperson of the 8th Infantry Division, said accounts of surrenderers show a deep crisis within the communist movement in the island due to the added pressure from the deployment of two additional battalions of Philippine Army last month.

“The surrenderers voluntarily tell us how they have lost the support of the masses and it gets worse with the entry of new battalions,” Mariano said. “They disclosed that the communist forces are now facing its biggest crisis ever.”

Mariano said that last week, six ranking members of the NPA surrendered to the joint forces of 803rd Infantry “Peacemaker” Brigade, Philippine Army and the Northern Samar Police at the headquarters of the 43rd Infantry Battalion in Barangay Magsaysay, Lope de Vega, Northern Samar.

The communist guerillas also surrendered their firearms consisting of two M16A1 rifles, one M14 rifle, two caliber .45 pistols, and one caliber .38 revolver and NPA propaganda materials.

Lieutenant Colonel Manuel B. Degay Jr., commanding officer of 43IB, formally accepted the surrender of six NPA members who belong to the Executive Committee of Front Committee 2 Sub-Regional Guerilla Unit, Sub-Regional Committee Emporium of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee.

Mariano said the military is expecting more surrenderers in the days and weeks to come as operations to dismantle all the four remaining guerilla fronts in Eastern Visayas continue to intensify.

One of the surrenderers, identified as Ka Arthur, recounted to the soldiers the hardship that they have been facing in the recent weeks.