A suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebel was killed in an encounter with government troops on Monday evening, February 10, in the remote Barangay Tala-on in La Libertad, Negros Oriental.
Lt. Colonel Evelio Ilanga, commanding officer of the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion (62IB), told the Philippine News Agency yesterday that the site of the encounter was adjacent to Barangay Aya where armed men torched heavy equipment on Saturday evening, February 8.
“We are verifying a statement circulating online purportedly issued by the Leonardo Panaligan Command [LPC] of the NPA claiming responsibility for the atrocity,” Ilanga said, referring to the destruction of the equipment.
The casualty was initially identified by an informant as Rolito Tanillo alias Gamatoy/Roy, a member of the Sangay Yunit Pampropaganda of the NPA’s dismantled Central Negros 1 guerrilla front, but this has yet to be confirmed, Ilanga said.
Personnel from the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Scene of the Crime Operatives were already deployed yesterday to retrieve the body and bring it to the town proper, he said.
Also recovered following the encounter was one M-14 defaced rifle, Ilanga added.
The area of the encounter sits on the boundaries of Binalbagan in Negros Occidental and Guihulngan in Negros Oriental.
Meanwhile, lawyer Jossil Macute, assistant regional election director of the Commission on Elections-Negros Island Region, said they are awaiting a report from the Philippine Army regarding the encounter.
Macute expressed confidence that the uniformed services have security contingency plans for any eventuality that could mar the May 12 local and national elections.
He said it is still too early to tell whether the burning incident and the encounter are related to the elections.
The purported statement of the LPC, through its spokesperson Ka JB Regalado, said they burned the heavy equipment as they are being used to benefit huge industries in the guise of helping farmers and residents in the hinterlands through the construction of a farm-to-market road. (PNA)