CPP identifies rebels killed in Cauayan clash

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — The Communist Party of the Philippines has claimed the five New People’s Army rebels killed in an armed encounter with the Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion in Cauayan, Negros Occidental, on May 16.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Negros Island Regional Operational Command, or Apolinario Gatmaitan Command, paid tribute to the five red fighters of the Armando Sumayang Jr. Command-NPA, Southwest Negros Guerrilla Front, whom it claimed had sacrificed their lives in the cause of liberating the Negrosanon masses from severe exploitation and oppression.

The CPP said Vince Francis Dingding, alias “Ka Poy/Moymoy,” 30, of Cebu City, served as secretary of the Southwest Negros Guerrilla Front.

In 2018, he initially chose the path of a tour of duty before committing as a full-time red fighter later, according to the CPP.

He started as a political guide in 2018.

The following year, after displaying exemplary ideological and political work, he was elevated as a member of the Front Committee, or Komite sa Larangan, of the unit he was part of.

He later served as part of the core leadership of the Regional Sentro de Grabidad until the third quarter of 2022 and was later deployed as deputy secretary of the Southeast Negros Guerrilla Front.

In 2025, he became secretary of the South Central Negros Guerrilla Front, and his final deployment was as secretary of the Southwest Negros Guerrilla Front.

The CPP said Rolando Dantes Jr., alias “Ka Anyo,” 39, was the commanding officer of the NPA-Armando Sumayang Jr. Command.

He initially joined a local cultural group, leading him to the ranks of the Kabataang Makabayan, where he used song and dance to arouse, organize, and mobilize the youth.

“Throughout nearly two decades of unwavering service, he rose from leading a small team to commanding a platoon of brave red fighters,” the group said.

The CPP said Jobert Casipong, alias “Ka Robi,” joined the NPA in the first quarter of 2021, taking the role of a squad medical officer while occasionally serving as a team leader.

In 2023, he returned to civilian life, but multiple death threats he reportedly received compelled him to return to his unit in the mountains.

The CPP said Gilbert Tingson, known to his comrades and the masses as “Ka Kolintong” and “Ka Downy,” initially served as a local yunit militia member.

He was previously captured by state forces and released but later fully committed himself as a full-time member of the NPA.

In his early years in the movement, he served as a finance and logistics officer.

The CPP said Alex Languita was a 25-year-old red fighter from Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental, and a team leader of the ASJC-NPA.

“So as there is life, there must be death. That is the inescapable truth of our existence. But death is not a universal equalizer. Its true weight is not measured in years lived, but in the depth of one’s service to the people,” the CPP said.

The CPP stated that, in reality, body counts do not equate to victory, as the ultimate victory of the people’s war relies on the collective mass of red fighters who embody the same revolutionary enthusiasm and death-defying spirit as martyrs.

“We will carry our revolutionary work through to the absolute end,” the CPP said.

The municipal government of Cauayan and the 15th IB formally turned over to their families the remains of Languita, Dantes, Casipong, and Tingson.

The NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, has waged one of Asia’s longest-running communist insurgencies against the Philippine government.

The Philippine government has designated the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.

The remains of the five fatalities were blessed by the Rev. Fr. Philip Palacios during a solemn ceremony in Barangay Isio, Cauayan, on Monday before they were brought by their families to their hometowns.

Government authorities said the remains were handled with utmost respect and care, ensuring that each would be accorded a proper and decent burial.

For Casipong’s mother, it was too painful to learn about her son’s death after she had not seen him since he left them to supposedly work in Manila about five years ago.

His mother said she had no idea that her son had joined the armed struggle.

As for Dingding’s remains, his parents initially refused to claim his body, but the military is still persuading them to bring him to Cebu as his final resting place.

A condemnation rally was held by SAMBAYANAN-Negros, along with various people’s organizations, at the public plaza of Cauayan on Monday to denounce the alleged atrocities and violent activities of the NPA in the Negros Island Region.

The activity also aimed to raise public awareness regarding the alleged exploitation and recruitment of young individuals to join the armed struggle.