Exhumed remains of NPA leader in Leyte get decent burial

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 12, 2021): Exhumed remains of NPA leader in Leyte get decent burial (By Sarwell Meniano)

DECENT BURIAL. The remains of a New People's Army commander exhumed on April 3 got a decent burial on Sunday (April 11, 2021) in Ormoc City. Authorities retrieved the body from a shallow grave in an upland village in Carigara, Leyte where it was buried by the slain rebel's comrades six years ago. (Photo courtesy of Philippine Army)

The cadaver of a New People’s Army (NPA) commander exhumed early this month was given a decent burial on Sunday, six years after rebels buried him in a shallow grave in Carigara, Leyte.

Brig. Gen. Zosimo Oliveros, commander of the Philippine Army's 802nd Infantry Brigade, said Eleazar Sabidalas was buried around 3 p.m. at the Ormoc City public cemetery.

"As a Filipino, it is natural for us to give respect to those who departed even if they are against the government," Oliveros said in a statement on Monday.

Prior to the burial, a funeral service was held for the slain rebel attended by his family members, relatives, former rebels, and soldiers.

On April 3, government forces exhumed Sabidalas' body in the upland village of Libo in Carigara town after receiving reliable information. Operatives from the Philippine National Police Scene of the Crime Operation, local police, and soldiers unearthed the cadaver as positively identified by former comrades.

Sabidalas, a former commander of NPA Leyte front committee, was seriously wounded in a clash with the military on July 18, 2015.

Instead of ensuring that he got proper medical care, he was left to die and buried in a shallow grave, according to Oliveros.

He said former NPA members told the military that the organization’s lack of respect for human life led to the untimely demise of Sabidalas.

He said the terrorist communist group deliberately conceals the experiences of its members to their families to prevent demoralization in its ranks and government forces from knowing the identity of the slain NPA members.

The NPA, which has been waging a more than five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1136442