NPA bomb-maker slain in clash with Army

From the Manila Times (Mar 4, 2023): NPA bomb-maker slain in clash with Army (By Franz R. Sumangil)

AN alleged bomb-maker of the New People's Army (NPA) was killed in a clash with government forces, an official of the Philippine Army announced on Thursday.

Brig. Gen. Michael Santos, commander of the Army's 603rd Infantry Brigade, said that Rosendo Cardiso Jr. was killed in an encounter with personnel of the 37th Infantry Battalion in Sangay village, Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat on Sunday.

According to Santos, Cardiso is a henchman and bomb-maker of Joseph Longan, who is an official of the NPA's self-styled Daguma Command-Far South Mindanao Region.

Santos said that a gunfight erupted when Longan and his companions attacked soldiers who were dispatched to the area to verify the presence of armed men, as reported by villagers.

Longan and his followers have been frequenting the hinterland villages in Sultan Kudarat's adjoining Lebak, Kalamansig and Palimbang towns to collect "revolutionary tax" monthly basis from the villagers.

Soldiers, meanwhile, recovered two M14 assault rifles and an M16 rifle from the scene of the encounter, along with the remains of Cardiso.

Units of the Police Regional Office-12 and the Army's 6th Infantry Division (6ID) in Sultan Kudarat and in nearby Sarangani and South Cotabato provinces are guarding against a possible retaliation by Longan's group.

Longan is wanted for 17 criminal cases pending in different courts.

He was tagged for one arson attack after another from 2019 to 2022 of P2 billion worth of heavy equipment from construction firms involved in infrastructure projects in South Cotabato after owners refused to shell out "protection money."

According to the military, six NPA bomb experts have been killed in clashes with government troops in South Cotabato, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat from October 2021 to January this year.

Units of 6ID had also secured during the period the surrender of 14 other NPA members who are experts in producing IEDs and deadly booby traps using ammonium nitrate and potassium chlorate as blasting powder.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/03/04/news/regions/npa-bomb-maker-slain-in-clash-with-army/1881164