NPA leader among killed in Iloilo encounter

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 1, 2023): NPA leader among killed in Iloilo encounter (By Perla Lena)

IDENTIFIED. The Blackhawk helicopter of the Philippine Air Force airlifts the cadavers of slain members of the Southern Front (SF), Komiteng Rehiyon (KR) – Panay from the site of the encounter in Brgy. Cagay to Leon Central Elementary School in the afternoon of Saturday (Sept. 30, 2023). Relatives of the deceased positively identified the cadavers, said Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, chief of the 3rd Division Public Affairs Office (3DPAO), in an interview on Sunday (Oct. 1). (PNA photo courtesy of 3ID, Philippine Army)

ILOILO CITY – A ranking official of the New People's Army (NPA) was among the three rebels killed during an encounter in Leon town, Iloilo province, an official of the Philippine Army said Sunday.

Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, chief of the 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, said Azucena Churesca Rivera, known in the movement as Rebecca Alifaro or alias Jing, was among those killed on Sept. 29 and was positively identified by her family.

She was the secretary of the NPA'S Southern Front-Komiteng Rehiyon-Panay.

A resident of Barangay Tinio-an, Cabatuan, Iloilo, she joined the armed movement in the 1980s, according to her eldest son.

She was facing charges of violation of the International Humanitarian Law, Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, and attempted murder.

She was with her two comrades, identified as Jimmy Macuna and Gerly Tejeros, when they engaged government troopers in a firefight at the boundary of far-flung barangays of Leon town.

Macuna, who was from Sibalom, Antique, was identified by his uncle, while Iloilo native Tejeros was identified by his relatives.

Macuna was a platoon member and Tejeros was a medical/education staff of the Komite.

“Their families have already presented documents. They will be released once the investigation and the processing of documents are completed,” Javines said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1210884