NPA leader killed in Moises Padilla gun battle

From the Visayan Daily Star (Jul 22, 2023): NPA leader killed in Moises Padilla gun battle (By GILBERT P. BAYORAN)

Two more suspected New People’s Army rebels died in a renewed gunbattle almost midnight of July 20 in Sitio Kawayanan, Brgy. Montilla, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.

Two cadavers were left by their fleeing comrades at the encounter site, and one of the slain rebels was identified by the 62nd Infantry Battalion as Marivic Ebarle, alias Ka Ivan, commanding officer of the Section Guerilla Unit of Central Negros 1 of the Komiteng Rehiyonal Negros/Cebu/Bohol/Siquijor.

Ebarle was also reported by the 62IB as a notorious NPA hitman operating in the hinterlands of Moises Padilla and neighboring La Castellana in Negros Occidental.

Lt. Col. William Pesase, 62nd Infantry Battalion commander, disclosed that the gunbattle between his troops and six NPA members lasted 15 minutes, which prompted to insurgents to scamper in different directions.

Pesase added that aside from cadavers of two slain rebels, army soldiers also recovered a caliber .45 pistol with two magazines containing ammunition, a caliber .357 revolver with 21 ammunition, medical kits and assorted medicines, two back packs containing personal belongings.

He also reported that two other rebels were also reportedly injured, as indicated by bloodstains along their withdrawal routes, and based on testimonies of residents in the area who reported the NPA presence in their community.

Pesase further said that the group of Ebarle was tagged as the primary suspects in various killings of innocent civilians, harassment, and extortion activities in Barangays Macagahay and Quintin Remo, both in Moises Padilla, where the boundary extends towards barangays of La Castellana, both in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.

Last month, five NPA rebels also died in an encounter with 62IB soldiers in Brgy. Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla.

The identity of the other slain rebel was yet to be established by the 62IB and Moises Padilla Police Station as of press time.

https://visayandailystar.com/npa-leader-killed-in-moises-padilla-gun-battle/