A married couple who served as members of the Sub-Regional Committee Sesame under the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC) voluntarily surrendered to government forces, marking another success for the Localized Peace Engagement (LPE) program in the region, the Philippine Army's 8th Infantry Division (PA's 8ID) reported Saturday.

The couple, identified as “Aga” (wife) and “Bigo” (husband), laid down their arms and expressed relief at finally returning to civilian life after years of hardship inside the underground movement.

According to Bigo, life inside the movement grew increasingly untenable. He described the constant pressure of evading government forces — the nonstop walking and hiding, the ever-present threat of being killed, and the fear of leaving their children without parents.

Aga echoed the same exhaustion. She said basic necessities, including food, had grown difficult to come by, and the loss of their arms cache further weakened their capacity to keep fighting.

Beyond the physical hardships, both cited a deeper problem: the movement was losing its mass base.

“An pinaka-importante nga rason kon kay ano nga nagdesisyon kami nga bumiya, amo an hinay-hinay nga pagkawara han suporta han kilusan tikang ha mismo ha mga komunidad nga amon unta gin-aangkon nga gin-siserbisyuhan ngan gindudumara. An mga tawo ha lugar nagin mas maaram na han amon mga pamaagi ngan taktika, nga nagresulta hin padayon nga pagkawara han suporta han masa(The most significant reason why we decide to leave was the erosion of the movement’s support among the very communities it once claimed to represent. The local population had grown aware of our schemes and tactics, resulting in a steady loss of mass base support.),” Bigo said.

Without the cover, supplies and sympathy once provided by local populations, the couple found themselves isolated — cut off from the very support structure the insurgency had long depended on to survive.

That isolation, combined with the constant threat of death and the inability to secure even basic necessities, ultimately pushed both Aga and Bigo to choose surrender over continuing to fight.

“Karuyag ko na yana nga mabuhi hin normal nga kinabuhi upod han akon pamilya. An akon la karuyag yana, amo an makaupod an akon mga anak ngan makita hira samtang nagtutubo, osa nga butang nga waray ko mahimo samtang nakadto pa ako ha kabukiran,(I want to live a normal life with my family. All I want now is to be there for my children and watch them grow up, something that I missed while I was in the mountains.)” Aga said.

The Philippine Army said the couple’s decision reflects a broader pattern in which the armed group’s remaining areas of influence in Eastern Visayas continue to shrink. The sustained cooperation of local communities and local government units (LGUs) has steadily eroded the insurgency’s ability to operate, recruit and rebuild mass support in the region. The group’s operating space continues to shrink, moving Eastern Visayas closer to ending the decades-long insurgency problem in the region.

The PA's 8ID appealed to the remaining rebels still hiding in the hinterlands to take advantage of the government’s peace programs and return to their families while the opportunity remains open.