Manila, June 6 -- A former rebel who decided to give up the armed struggle is now getting closer to reaching her dream of entering the fashion industry.

Alias "Kenken," 24, walked the stage of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT U) -Miagao here on Thursday during the campus donning ceremony for graduating students of the BS Industrial Technology, Major in Fashion and Apparel program. She will formally graduate on June 11.

A former medical officer of the dismantled Southern Panay Front of the New People's Army (NPA), Kenken joined the communist group in 2017 at the age of 19 after graduating from senior high school, according to Lt. Col. Arturo Balgos Jr., commanding officer of the 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB).

"She surrend...