Author: DAVAO TODAY

Convenors of Interfaith Movement for Peace and the Release of Cammayo and Tumol (IMPACT) welcome 1Lt. Vicente Cammayo (right) during his release on Jan. 6. Escorted by the New People's Army custodial force and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Cammayo was released in Loreto, Agusan del Sur, after being held as "prisoner of war" for almost two months. According to the Merardo Arce Command of the NPA, Cammayo was the team leader of the 11th company of the 3rd Special Forces Battalion of the AFP who surrendered on Nov. 7 last year when his unit was ambushed by the NPA in Monkayo, Compostela Valley. His release, according to the NPA regional command, is a "gesture of goodwill" in celebration of the Communist Party of the Philippines's 40th anniversary. (davaotoday.com photos by Barry Ohaylan)