SAN PEDRO CITY — An alleged ranking member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed in an encounter with the police in Kalayaan town in Laguna province on Saturday.
Police identified the slain rebel as Mario Caraig, alias Jetro or Dan, who held the position of secretary-general for rebel forces operating in the provinces of Cavite and Batangas.
Police report said that Caraig was killed in a gunfight past midnight on Saturday at Sitio (sub-village) Buho in Barangay (village) San Antonio.
Members of the provincial intelligence police unit were conducting a follow-up operation, after an earlier encounter in the same area on August 4, when they chanced upon Caraig. Authorities believed he was among the group of about 40 rebels who escaped a previous encounter.
After the gunfight, police said Caraig was taken to a hospital where he died.
Caraig was the fourth suspected NPA fighter killed this week. The other fatalities in the Aug. 4 clash were Dioscoro Cello and two others identified only by their aliases Omar or Efren and Danny or Mar or Rey.