TACLOBAN CITY — After years of moving through the thick forests of Leyte’s central highlands, three members of the New People’s Army (NPA) have decided they’ve had enough of running, hiding and fighting.

On 30 November 2025, Remegio Narbonita (alias Alon) of Carigara, Rocelo Corea (alias Rod/Ryan/Billy) of Hindang, and Rosendo Orca (alias Sendo) of Kananga quietly made their way to the camp of the 93rd Infantry (Bantay Kapayapaan) Battalion in Barangay Aguiting, Kananga. There, they surrendered — two of them turning over the .45-caliber pistols issued to them by the rebel movement.

Their surrender didn’t come out of nowhere. For weeks, their unit — Squad 2, Island Committee LEVOX under the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee — had been reeling from back-to-back setbacks. The most devastating was the 17 November clash in Jaro, Leyte that left three rebels dead, including their squad leader, Fidel Lagado.

But according to Lt. Col. Celeste Frank Sayson, commanding officer of the 93rd IB, it wasn’t just the defeats that pushed them to walk away from the armed struggle. It was the voices calling from home.

“They told us their families had been pleading with them to come back and celebrate the Christmas season in peace,” Sayson shared — an emotional pull that proved stronger than ideology and fear.

Their unit had long operated inside and around the 107,625-hectare Leyte Geothermal Reservation, a vast expanse of forest and rugged terrain that had sheltered NPA fighters for years. Today, that same terrain feels less like a fortress and more like a place people are finally choosing to leave behind.

Brig. Gen. Pompeyo Jason Almagro, commander of the 802nd Infantry (Peerless) Brigade, called the surrender a meaningful step toward healing.

“We are glad because those who surrendered listened to the appeals of their families and the government,” he said, adding that he hopes others still in the mountains will follow their lead.

The Army says these surrenders further weaken what remains of NPA influence in Leyte and Southern Leyte — areas where government forces say the insurgency has steadily diminished in recent years.

For now, the three former rebels are looking forward to something simple yet profound: going home and celebrating Christmas not as fugitives, but as fathers, sons and family once again.