2 dead, 3 hurt in NPA attack on resettlement area of breakaway group in Negros Occidental

BACOLOD CITY — About 30 fighters of the New People’s Army (NPA) attacked a resettlement area of a breakaway rebel group in Sitio Ilan, Barangay Locotan, Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental, leaving two dead and three injured about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 8.

Brig. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said among those killed were Jhoenel Marabebe and Bogie Vergara, members of the defunct Revolutionary Proletarian Army (RPA).

RPA is a breakaway group from the NPA that entered into peace negotiations with the government.

Injured in a firefight that lasted for about 10 minutes were Jonathan Pagados, Ramil Banista, and a certain Ruel.

Two of the wounded RPA members were brought to a Bacolod hospital for treatment while one rushed to the Kabankalan District Hospital.

An undetermined number of firearms were also reportedly taken by the NPA from the RPA resettlement area.

The government established the resettlement area following the peace negotiations with the RPA.

The RPA was the military wing of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawà ng Pilipinas, a communist party that split from the Communist Party of the Philippines.

The RPMP was established after the NPA’s Negros Regional Party Committee broke away from the Communist Party of the Philippines as a result of an ideological split in 1996.

It organized its military arm two months after the split, calling it the RPA.