One rebel killed, four others captured in separate clashes with government troops in Albay and Quezon

By Ronron
August 30, 2007

A suspected communist rebel died while four others were captured following separate clashes against government troops in the southern Luzon provinces of Albay and Quezon last Wednesday.

The first encounter happened at 7am in Ligao City, Albay, involving elements of the Philippine Army’s 65th Infantry Battalion and CAFGU elements, and seven armed members of the New People’s Army (NPA), said Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr.

Torres said the government troops were scouring Sitio Boyog in Barangay Tupas of said city when they encountered the rebels.

He said the firefight lasted for 15 minutes, resulting in the death of one NPA member, identified as Maximo Pederelio, alias Eddie. Recovered from him was one caliber 45 pistol with one magazine and 15 live ammunitions.

Later at 4pm, some 30 suspected rebels clashed with elements of the Army’s 76th Infantry Battalion at Barangay Almacen in Unisan, Quezon.

Army 2nd Infantry Division spokesman Capt. Carlo Ferrer said the 15-minute clash resulted in the capture of four suspected rebels, two of whom were identified.

One of the identified was a certain Marlon, vice platoon leader of the NPA’s Provincial Unit Guerilla, and the other was a certain Joan, an amazon. All four were not wounded, said Ferrer.

Meanwhile, the rest of the rebels, who were armed with two M60 light machine guns, were able to escape to different directions.

Ferrer said there was no casualty on the government side.

Asked if the two encounters can be linked to the order of the communist movement leadership for the NPA to step up its offensives against government forces and private installations, Torres said: “I don’t think so.”

Torres said the two incidents just appear to be normal when compared to previous incidents.

“We don’t see any significant rise yet in the number of their atrocities,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) directed the NPA to step up its offensives in protest to the apprehension of its founding chairman Jose Maria Sison last Tuesday in the Netherlands.

Sison was nabbed by the Dutch Police for allegedly inciting the killing of former rebel leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in 2003 and 2004, respectively, in Quezon City./DMS