Military says alleged NPA official, 2 others killed in Davao de Oro

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 29, 2022): Military says alleged NPA official, 2 others killed in Davao de Oro (By: John Eric Mendoza)

Davao de Oro map

The military on Tuesday said they foiled an alleged attack by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Davao de Oro over the weekend after they killed one of its ranking officers and two others in an encounter.

Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) commander Lt Gen. Greg Almerol said in a statement that troops and communist rebels figured in a firefight in Barangay Tupas Maragusan, Davao de Oro, on March 27.

He also said that Ezequil Cortez Daguman, allegedly a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and a certain Ruel Baylon and Quirino Remegio were killed during the skirmish.

Almerol further said that government soldiers consequently seized high-powered firearms composed of three M4 rifles, an M16A1 rifle, an AK47, two M203 grenade launchers, an improvised explosive device (IED), several 40mm high-explosive ammunition, as well as 5.56mm and 7.62mm ammunition, from the battle scene.

The alleged rebels were supposedly planning attacks to mark the 53rd anniversary of the NPA, but it was preempted after concerned citizens reported the purported plan to authorities, according to Almerol.

“Our troops who have been conducting focused military operations since last year to sustain our crackdown against the remaining [communist rebels] were alerted by concerned citizens to the presence of armed groups attempting to plant an IED along the road. This was immediately responded to by the 1001st Brigade’s troops, which led to a series of armed encounters and resulted in the death of Daguman and his comrades,” he explained.

INQUIRER.net sought CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena for a comment on this incident but has yet to get a response as of posting.

The military claimed that Daguman was involved in the attack on the Lapanday Corp. Plastic Plant and Lorenzo Farm in Davao City and the Macondray Plastic Plant in Panabo City in 2017, and in the murder of Datu Ruben Labawan, a tribal leader in Paquibato, Davao City, in 2015.

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