Battalion Commander LTC Terence P. Ylanan of the 53rd Infantry Battalion (IB) reported a significant achievement, with 11 FRs now free from all legal challenges and fully reintegrated into society. This success was attributed to the support and dedication of the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) LCC.

One of the notable success stories was alias Chubby, one of the 11 FRs, who had 9 cases dismissed. Ylanan highlighted that after demonstrating the positive outcomes resulting from the dismissal of all her cases, alias Chubby became an inspiration for other FRs to surrender and return to the path of the law, leading to 130 total surrenders in the province.

“It just shows that napakalaki ng effect na naipapakita natin yung confidence-building measures sa enemies of the state natin na meron silang way to change,” LTC Ylanan said.

(It shows that the confidence-building measures we implement for our enemies of the state have a huge impact and provide them with a way to change.)

Meanwhile, Governor Victor J. Yu, during his speech at the RTF-ELCAC Legal Cooperation Summit, commended the crucial role played by the RTF-ELCAC Legal Cluster in addressing the legal concerns of FRs who have chosen to rejoin society in this region.