Another NPA leader slain in Mindanao

HOMEBOUND | Army troops from the 67th Infantry Battalion, on Dec. 27, 2023, transfer to a truck that will bring to his family the casket that contains the remains of Joedil Virtudazo, a leader of the New People’s Army unit in Surigao del Sur, who was killed in a clash in Tagbina town on Dec. 26. (Photo from the 101st Infantry Division)

DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines — The communist movement suffered another setback in Mindanao with the killing four days before the New Year of a ranking New People’s Army (NPA) in a clash with government troops in Surigao del Sur province.

This brought to 15 the number of guerrilla fighters killed during holiday clashes, starting with the death of 10 NPA members in Bukidnon province before dawn on Christmas Day and another four in Misamis Occidental province three days later.

The fatality in the Surigao del Sur fighting was identified as Joedil Virtudazo, political officer of the Regional Sentro De Grabidad of the NPA’s northeastern Mindanao regional committee.

His remains were turned over to his sister Pablita Virtudazo Casanoza at the Toni Funeral Services in Tagbina town of Surigao del Sur on Dec. 27, a day after the 20-minute firefight that took his life in Sitio Paradise of Barangay Santa Juana in Tagbina.

Virtudazo, also known as “Jerby” or “Janjalani,” was killed in a firefight with Philippine Army troops from the 67th Infantry Battalion (IB), a unit under the 701st Infantry (Kagitingan) Brigade, at 10:35 a.m. on Dec. 26, which was also the 55th founding year of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), according to Maj. Mark Anthony Tito, chief of the public affairs office of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

Soldiers recovered one R4 carbine rifle, an M4 rifle, and three cell phones with SIM cards from the clash site.

Tito said that while Virtudazo’s death brought to 15 the number of NPA fighters slain in Mindanao since Christmas Day, he was the third person to have died within the 10th ID area of operation from January to Dec. 29 last year.

The 10th ID covered parts of Soccsksargen (Sarangani, South Cotabato, 2nd district of Cotabato and Columbio, Sultan Kudarat), Trento in Agusan del Sur province and Lingig in Surigao del Sur.

Authorities initially reported that Virtudazo was killed in an encounter with soldiers in Rosario town of Agusan del Sur province on Nov. 18 but the fatality was later identified as an alias “Christian” who also belonged to the same unit as Virtudazao, said Lt. Col. Edwin I. Pia, 67th IB commander.

NEXT OF KIN | Pablita Casanoza (center), on Dec. 27, 2023, goes over the set of documents needed to claim the remains of her brother, Joedil Virtudazo, a New People’s Army leader killed in a clash with Army troops in Tagbina, Surigao del Sur, on Dec. 26. (Photo from the 101st Infantry Division)

‘Significant blow’

Brig. Gen. Allan D. Hambala, 10th ID commander, described Virtudazo as a “notorious NPA leader in Northern Mindanao” and that his death was a “significant blow” against the communist insurgents operating in the region.

“It surely weakens their leadership and their will to fight,” Hambala said.

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Of the 19 armed clashes that the 10th ID troops recorded this year, 13 happened in Bukidnon province, three in Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur, respectively, according to the report of Lt. Col. Orly D. Brigoli, deputy assistant chief of staff for operations of the 10th ID.

On Christmas Day, the Army’s 403rd Infantry Brigade, along with troops from the 8th IB, 88th IB and the 1st Special Forces Battalion, launched offensives in the hinterland villages of Can-ayan, Mapulo, Kibalabag and Kulaman in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, which led to the death of 10 NPA guerrillas belonging to the NPA’s sub-regional committee 2.

Among those killed were Beverly Sinunta, alias “Ayang,” identified as secretary of the NPA unit operating in the area; her husband Alfredo Banawan, alias “Alab,” the deputy secretary; and their daughter Chen-chen, alias “Pao.” The couple and their daughter were residents of Barangay Cawayan, Quezon town in Bukidnon, said Lt. Col. Anthony Bacus, commanding officer of the 8th IB.

Soldier brother

Three days later, on Dec. 28, four more NPA fighters were killed in two separate clashes in Sergio Osmeña town of Misamis Occidental.

Among those killed was Maria Luz Ranan, also known as “Mona” and “Inez,” secretary of the Guerrilla Front Sendong operating in Misamis Occidental, according to Lt. Col. Jimmy Sanz, commanding officer of the Army’s 97th Infantry Battalion.

Ranan, who was from Loreto town of Agusan del Sur, and the other fatalities were identified by former NPA fighters who had joined the government’s counterinsurgency program. Ranan’s remains were claimed by her brother, a soldier belonging to the Army unit that was going after the guerrilla front operating in Misamis Occidental.

The 10th ID also reported that aside from the three NPA killed in its area last year, 332 persons had surrendered, of whom 121 were NPA rebels, 138 were members of the “milisyang bayan” and 73 alleged members of underground mass organization. The unit also recovered 159 firearms.Davao region, on the other hand, had been insurgency-free since October last year, according to Hamdala.