SLAIN REBELS. The Army’s 402nd Infantry Brigade reports the death of two NPA insurgents during an encounter with 23rd Infantry Battalion in Barangay Consorcia, Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte, on June 21, 2022. In a separate clash on the same day, an unidentified rebel was also slain in an encounter with the 36th Infantry Battalion in Madrid, Surigao del Sur. (Photo courtesy of 402Bde)
BUTUAN CITY – Three New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas were killed in two separate encounters early this week in Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Sur provinces, authorities said Thursday.
In Agusan del Norte, the Army’s 402nd Infantry Brigade (402Bde) said in a statement that troops from the 23rd Infantry Battalion (IB) clashed with some 15 NPA rebels Tuesday in Barangay Consorcia of Las Nieves town.
The encounter left two NPA insurgents dead, later identified by authorities as Rey Torregosa, 24, of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur; and Juliven Badbaran, 41, of San Luis, Agusan del Sur.
Torregosa was a member of the NPA's Sub-Regional Committee 3 (SRC-3) while Badbaran is the former commanding officer of the same rebel unit, 402Bde said.
“The NPA rebels in Agusan del Norte are suffering from losses with the continued focused military operations,” Brig. Gen. Adonis Ariel Orio, the 402Bde commander, said.
In Surigao del Sur, an encounter between the troops of the 36IB and a dozen NPA rebels Tuesday in Madrid town also resulted in the death of an insurgent.
The Surigao del Sur Police Provincial Office (SSPPO), in a separate report Thursday, said the five-minute encounter also led to the recovery of an M16 rifle.
The SSPPO is still verifying the identity of the slain NPA rebel, reportedly belonging to the NPA Guerrilla Front 30.
The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973. (PNA)
