NPA leader in Cotabato killed in clash with Army soldiers
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – One of the top leaders of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA) in Cotabato province was killed in a 20-minute encounter in Matalam town on Saturday morning, Oct. 24, the military said.
Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said troops of the Army’s 62nd Division Reconnaisance Company, were conducting a patrol in Matalam’s Arakan Village when they encountered around a dozen NPA armed fighters.
The military identified the lone fatality as Zaldy Gulmatico Pulido, also known as Joel and Cobra.
Vinluan said Pulido was the secretary of the Guerilla Front 53, under the NPA’s Southern Mindanao Regional Committee.
Vinluan added that Pulido’s M16 rifle, three magazines, assorted ammunition, two cellular phones, and propaganda materials, were recovered after the firefight.
