Manila, July 14 -- A couple who had joined the communist New People's Army (NPA) abandoned their ideology and voluntarily surrendered to military authorities in a remote village here over the weekend, the Philippine Army's 4th Infantry Division (4ID) said Monday.

The surrenderers were identified as Marjun Sagay Navarro and Rosemarie Garcia. They yielded in Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay Anticala, on Saturday, also turning over an M16 rifle.

"Tired of running and driven by their dream to raise a child in peace, the couple, who once waged war in the mountains, have surrendered to start a new life as a family," the 4ID said in a statement.

The achievement, the 4ID added, resulted from the persistent community engagement efforts of the Army's 9...