TWO New People’s Army (NPA) leaders were killed in a recent firefight with government troops in Cabanglasan town in Bukidnon, the military reported yesterday.
One of those slain was Alfredo Banawan, alias Alab, secretary of the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee’s (NCMRC) Headquarters Loader for Sub-Regional Committee 2.
Also killed was Dodong Sagula, alias Joen and Ejel, supply officer of the Regional Sentro De Gravidad (RSDG) Compaq under the NCMRC.
Troops from the Army’s 1st Special Forces Battalion conducted a combat operation last Monday in Barangay Iba, where the rebels were reportedly conducting extortion and recruitment of members, according to Lt. Col. Francisco Garello, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division.
Aside from the remains of Banawan and Sagula, troops also recovered at the encounter site four high-powered firearms (one M653 rifle, two M16 rifles, and one Bushmaster AR15 rifle) and other war materiel.
Last March 4, soldiers clashed with the “leadership” of the NCMRC in the same barangay, which resulted in the recovery of two high-powered firearms and the personal belongings of the rebels.
An Air Force FA-50 fighter jet crashed in Mt. Kalatungan, also in Bukidnon, while about to deliver firepower to the ground groups during the encounter, leaving two pilots dead.
Asked if the rebels encountered last Monday belonged to the same NPA group they engaged last March 4, Garello said: “Same regional committee but different unit.”
Garello noted the rebels encountered last March 4 belonged to the “leadership” of the NCMRC, while the ones they encountered last Monday were from the Headquarters Loader for Sub-Regional Committee 2 and RSDG Compaq of the NCMRC.
Garello said no request was made for close air support during last Monday’s encounter, adding that it was purely a firefight between the ground troops and the rebels.
Maj. Gen. Michele Anayron Jr., 4th ID commander, said the death of the NPA leaders degraded the NPA’s capability to launch attacks.
