POST-ENCOUNTER. The bodies of communist New People’s Army leaders Isagani Madlos (left) and his wife, Angie Salinas (right), after the encounter with government troops on Sept. 3, 2022. The NPA couple was killed in Barangay Kapitan Bayong in Impasug-ong town, Bukidnon province. (Photo courtesy of 8IB-4ID)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Army's 4th Infantry Division (4ID) said Monday pursuit operations against communist rebels in Bukidnon province continue following the recent death of two of the New People Army's (NPA) top leaders in the area.
Major Francisco Garello, 4ID chief for Public Affairs Office, said troops under the Army's 8th Infantry Battalion (8IB) continued to search remnants of the rebels in Barangay Kapitan Bayong and nearby villages in Impasugong town, Bukidnon, after Vincent Isagani Madlos and wife Angie Salinas were killed in an encounter on Sept. 3.
In an interview Monday, Garello said Isagani was the son of the late George "Ka Oris" Madlos, NPA's national operations command and spokesperson of the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Mindanao, who was also killed in Impasugong in October last year.
Colonel Ted Dumosmog, 403rd IB officer-in-charge, said the younger Madlos and Salinas were among the wanted top leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA (CPP-NPA) Central Committee and its Operations Command (NOC), respectively.
"Additionally, (Vincent Isagani) Madlos had multiple warrants of arrest for the crimes committed from different areas in the Caraga and Northern Mindanao regions,” Dumosmog said in a statement.
He said the combat group of the Joint Task Force Diamond (JTFD) was conducting a special operation On Sept. 3 when a 15-minute firefight broke out against an undetermined number of NPA combatants.
The clash resulted in the death of the NPA couple and the recovery of two AK-47 rifles and personal belongings.
Major Gen. Wilbur C. Mamawag, 4ID commander, said the "neutralization" of CPP-NPA top leaders provides a clearer view of "ending the local communist armed conflict in Northern Mindanao."
"Hence, we urge everyone, especially our peace partners, to continue rallying with us, and collectively provide our people a better place to live that is safe and conducive for sustainable development," Mamawag.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the NDF as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA that was created in April 1973. (PNA)
