Three suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) killed in separate encounters with government troops this week have been claimed by their families, Army officials said.

The slain NPA rebels were identified as Dionisio Baloy, 67 years old, of Barangay Linantuyan; and Bernard Torres Sr., 56 years old, a resident of Barangay Buenavista, both in Guihulngan City; and Edmar Pat Solano, of legal age and a resident of Sitio Omol, Barangay Talalak in Sta. Catalina town, all in Negros Oriental.

The family of Solano claimed his remains on Friday, January 19, a day after he was killed in an encounter with troops of the Army’s 11th Infantry Battalion in Sitio Sug-ong, Barangay Milagrosa in Sta. Catalina, Lt. Colonel Michael Aquino, battalion commanding officer, said in an interview.

Solano (alias Meme/Maymay/Jane) was a member of Squad 1 of the dismantled South East Front.

Meanwhile, the remains of Baloy and Torres were turned over to their families on January 18, after they were killed in an encounter with 62nd Infantry Battalion troops in Barangay Sag-ang, La Castellana, Negros Occidental.

Both belonged to remnants of the NPA’s Central Negros 1 guerilla front, the same armed group that figured in previous encounters in Guihulngan City and Moises Padilla, Negros Oriental. (PNA)