COTABATO CITY—The military here has intensified operations against the New People’s Army (NPA) in Sultan Kudarat province following a clash that left an NPA leader and two of his aides killed over the weekend.
In a statement Army 6th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Roberto Capulong identified the slain NPA leader as Ian Dela Rama, head of the regional operations command of the rebels’ Far South Mindanao Region.
Dela Rama was a former secretary of the NPA Front 4A, North Central Mindanao Regional Committee.
He also had an existing warrant of arrest for arson filed at the Regional Trial Court Branch 3 in Butuan City.
Dela Rama’s two slain aides, identified as Valerio Lacumbo and Wilmer Dela Cruz, were both operating in the mountain borders of Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato.
“The three were killed in a running gun battle at the peripheries of Barangay Baluan, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, on Saturday afternoon,” Capulong said.
Recovered from the rebels were two M16 rifles, a Garand rifle, two .45-caliber pistols, a hand grenade, firearm clips, ammunition, P3,000 cash, bomb-making components, and mobile phones, among others.
Capulong reminded his troops of possible retaliatory attacks from the NPA to avenge the death of their three comrades.
He assured the public though that the Army will continue to pursue those who persist to fight the government.
“The 6th ID will always adhere to the tasks mandated to us, that is, to protect the people and secure the communities, especially in the area of Sultan Kudarat, to free them from insurgency brought by these rebels,” he said.
Capulong condoled with the families of slain NPA rebels, even as he called on other insurgents to surrender and return to their respective families while they still can.
“Our government troops do not rejoice in killing fellow Filipinos as we also feel bad if a rebel dies in encounters due to a lost cause. Lay down your arms and come back to the folds of the law to avoid circumstances like this,” he said.
Since January this year, nine NPA rebels have been killed while 94 others have surrendered.
A total of 68 firearms, 16 grenades, and five anti-personnel mines were confiscated during the same period.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the National Democratic Front as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA that was created in April 1973.