Rebel killed, cache of guns seized as soldiers overrun NPA lair

By Jennifer P. Rendon

An alleged member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed after members of the Philippine Army’s 12th Infantry Battalion overran a temporary NPA encampment in a hinterland village in Calinog, Iloilo, on the morning of August 5.

Lieutenant Colonel Vicel Jan Garsuta, 12IB commander, identified the fatality as Benjamin Cortel, alias Mamang/Amor, the political officer of RHQ, KR-P.

Cortel, from Barangay Cochero, Molo, Iloilo City, was the husband of Lenilyn Custorio Jaynos, alias Sandra, a former finance officer of KR-Panay, who was apprehended in September 2022 in Barangay Sibaguan, Roxas City, Capiz.

Reports indicated that soldiers received information about rebel sightings at the boundaries of Lambunao and Calinog towns in Iloilo and Valderrama, Antique.

Garsuta said they later discovered the rebels’ makeshift tents in Barangay Aglonok, Calinog.

The rebels, numbering around 15 to 20, were members of the NPA’s Regional Headquarters and Central Iloilo and remnants of the Southern Front.

The firefight started at around 10:48 a.m. and lasted for 15 minutes. Garsuta confirmed that one of his men was slightly wounded during the encounter. The unnamed soldier, who sustained a wound on the side of his right eye, is now in stable condition.

During the clearing operation, soldiers recovered five high-powered firearms: an M16 Armalite rifle, an M14 Armalite rifle, an AK47 assault rifle, an M203 grenade launcher, and an Ultimax light machine gun.

They also seized three rifle grenades, two M16 magazines loaded with ammunition, four M203 rounds, two AK47 magazines loaded with ammunition, an Ultimax magazine loaded with ammunition, four bandoliers, eight backpacks with personal belongings, two laptops with chargers, 10 cellphones, five hard drives, 42 flash drives, six SD cards, three memory cards, a broadband router, a pocket WiFi, a solar panel, an NPA flag, subversive documents, and assorted medical paraphernalia and medicines.

Garsuta said the rebels were forced to abandon their weapons and important documents and belongings, as they were caught by surprise.

He also lauded the tipsters and local residents for their support of the government’s effort to end local terrorism.