NPA rebel slain in Oriental Mindoro clash with gov’t troops

From the Manila Bulletin (Mar 2, 2019): NPA rebel slain in Oriental Mindoro clash with gov’t troops

Government security forces killed a suspected Communist rebel in a continuing massive flush out drive against local insurgents operating in the Mindoro provinces that has also left three policemen dead in the past few days.

At least six encounters have been recorded in Mindoro provinces since February 21, excluding the rebel attack on a project site of a hydro powerplant in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on February 25.

Supt. Socrates Faltado, spokesman of the MIMAROPA (Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) regional police said the slain Communist rebel was abandoned by his companions after an encounter in Barangay Waygan in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro at around 5 a.m. Saturday.

Both the police and the military have stepped up the offensive against the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels after the February 21 clash in Barangay Sta. Teresita in Mansalay town.

The gunfight erupted as the government declared on the same day that the nearby island province of Romblon was already free from the threat of Communist rebels.

On February 23, police and military forces clashed with the NPA three times near the boundary of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro.
One of the three gunfights resulted in the death of SPO1 Bonifacio Tayuco and SPO2 Raymundo Robles.

On February 25, a band of rebels pretended to be Army troopers to gain entry into a hydroelectric power plant project site in Naujan town.

They then burned at least a dozen of heavy equipment, the warehouse for construction materials and three offices inside the project site.

On February 28, PO3 Edwin Encarnacion died in a clash with rebels in Barangay Malamig, Gloria town in Oriental Mindoro. A policeman was also wounded.

The 4,000-strong NPA has been waging almost five decades of armed struggle against the government. It further intensified the attacks after the peace talks with the Duterte administration bogged down anew.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/03/02/npa-rebel-slain-in-oriental-mindoro-clash-with-govt-troops/