Government soldiers killed a senior New People’s Army rebel leader and captured 7 others, including a deputy secretary of the Communist Party of the Philippines, in fierce clashes in Ozamiz City in the southern Philippine province of Misamis Occidental, an army spokesman said Monday.
Captain Clint Antipala, of the1st Infantry Division, said the slain rebel leader, who was only identified by his alias Nasi, was the secretary of the Guerilla Front Sendong of the Western Mindanao Party Committee.
A military photo released to the Zamboanga Post newspaper shows the slain rebel leader Nasi, his face blurred, who was killed by soldiers in Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental province in southern Philippines. Seven other rebels, including Nasi’s deputy, were captured by troops in the fighting August 25, 2019.
He said among those captured by troops was Nasi’s deputy, a platoon and section leaders, but their identities were not made public as military interrogation to the prisoners continues.
Antipala did not say if there were military casualties, but he said soldiers also recovered an M16 automatic rifle, four .45-caliber pistols and 7 fragmentation grenades, including three motorcycles, improvised explosives and P50,000 in cash from the rebels during the weekend fighting.
Colonel Leonel Nicolas, commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade, lauded the soldiers for the slaying of the rebel leader and capture of the others. “This is a big blow to the communist movement as well as to the Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee and we expect that they will be disorganized and disgruntled,” he said.
Just recently, rebel forces in the province threatened to attack power facilities there after they raided the coal-fired power plant of the Mindanao Energy Systems, Inc. (Minergy) in the village of Quezon in Balingasag town and disarmed security guards, seizing 5 high-powered weapons and other military hardware.
Norsen Manggubat, a spokesman for the Communist Party of the Philippines, said raid was in retaliation to the alleged abuses of Minergy to villagers.
He said Minergy’s operation, which started in 2017 “under Duterte’s incitation of installing coal-fired power plants in the pretext of expanding energy resources in the country” allegedly dislocated dwellers from their homes and livelihood. “This will serve as a warning to Minergy and other companies who are only serving for the interest of profit. The revolutionary movement is ever determined to paralyze and halt Minergy’s operation.”
Manggubat was referring to the operations of coal-fired power plants STEAG State Power Inc., and FDC Misamis Power Corporation in the town of Villanueva, also in Misamis Oriental.The NPA, armed wing of the CPP, has been fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. The movement began in 1930 and is the world’s longest communist insurgency. (Zamboanga Post)
https://mindanaoexaminer.com/troops-kill-npa-leader-capture-7-others-in-south/
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