Unidentified slain rebel laid to rest

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Army’s 94th Infantry Battalion (IB) provided a proper burial to a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) who was killed in a series of clashes with government forces in Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental on July 7.

The burial was held three days after the clashes happened.

Captain Mervin Rosal, civil military operations officer of 303rd IBde, said the slain NPA rebel remains unidentified.

But, former NPA rebels, who used to be his companions, identified him as a certain “Chan” or “Bambam,” based on the tattoo on his right arm.

Lieutenant Colonel Van Donald Almonte, 94th IB commander, said the slain rebel was believed to be one of the critically wounded during the encounters, whom his comrades reportedly abandoned to avoid slowing down their escape from pursuing military troopers.

In a statement, Brigadier General Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde), slammed the NPA for allegedly forsaking their injured comrade, resulting in his demise.

Edralin commended the local government and other security forces that exemplified their dedication to the welfare of the people by providing a proper burial, even for the NPA rebels.

Meanwhile, two former NPA rebels graduated with honors from senior high school at Guihulngan City National High School in Barangay Poblacion, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on July 9.

These two former rebels were passers of the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Assessment and Certification process of Alternative Learning System (ALS) on Nov. 8, 2021, through the collaboration of the Department of Education (DepEd) Division of Guihulngan City, Guihulngan City Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (GCTF-ELCAC), and the 62nd IB.