NPA rebel slain in Cagayan, Abra clashes

INQUIRER FILES

CAMP MELCHOR DELA CRUZ, ISABELA — An alleged New People’s Army (NPA) member was killed and assorted guns and belongings were retrieved Friday in a series of clashes in Cagayan and Abra, the military said on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Major Rigor Pamittan, 5th Infantry Division spokesperson and civil affairs office chief, told the Inquirer that the still unidentified male rebel was found dead after the 502nd Infantry Brigade soldiers battled suspected remnants of the Cagayan Valley Regional Committee, led by Edgar Arbitrario, in a ten-minute battle at about 12 noon in Sitio (sub-village) Laoc in Barangay Pateng in Gonzaga town, Cagayan. Arbitrario is allegedly a rebel leader from Mindanao.

The rebel’s body was brought to a funeral parlor while waiting for claimants from his relatives.

Meanwhile, an Army soldier, who was wounded in the exchange of gun fire, was taken to the military hospital in this camp for treatment.

READ: 2 suspected NPA rebels killed in Cagayan clash

Soldiers also found an M-14 Armalite rifle with a magazine, anti-government documents, and personal belongings at the clash site.

In a separate encounter around 5 p.m., the 50th Infantry Battalion of the 503rd Infantry Brigade and the North Abra Guerrilla Committee of the Ilocos Cordillera Regional Committee (ICRC) also exchanged gun fire in Barangay Naguilian, Sallapadan town in Abra.

No one was reported hurt or killed in the 10-minute skirmish, but Army soldiers found personal belongings and anti-government documents at the scene.