The body of Joseph Besano Pacheco, an alleged New People's Army member who was killed in a clash with government soldiers in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental. (Photo courtesy of the Philippine Army)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The mother of an alleged member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) who was killed in an encounter last Saturday, July 13 between government troops and suspected rebels claimed the body on Tuesday after having positively identified it as that of her son.
A report from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) said the mother, Julita Besano Pacheco, 53, of Barangay Buenavista in Himamaylan, Negros Occidental, appeared at the Ayungon Police Station around 10 a.m. to claim the body.
She identified her son as Joseph Besano Pacheco, 22 also of Barangay Buenavista in Himamaylan.
The mother identified her son through a burn scar on the cadaver’s left arm and on the back.
The body of the alleged NPA member was buried on Sunday by the Ayungon local government unit at the town’s public cemetery, said Capt. Cenon Pancito III, chief of the Public Affairs Office of the 3rd Infantry Division.
Pacheco was killed after some 15 armed NPA members clashed with 62nd Infantry Battalion troops at the boundary of Upper Carol-an in Ayungon, Negros Oriental and Barangay Carol-an in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
