Suspected NPA leader killed in Zamboanga del Sur clash

 

MANILA, Philippines — A suspected ranking leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed in an encounter on Tuesday morning in Zamboanga del Sur.

The fatality was identified as Aprecia Alvarez Rosete, also known as “Bambam,” who allegedly served as  the secretary of the NPA’s Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee, according to Western Mindanao Commander (WMRPC) Lt. Gen. William Gonzales.

Rosete was killed after an encounter in Barangay Malagalad in the municipality of Dumingag.

“Her reign of terror has finally ended,” Gonzales said in a statement, also calling it a “significant milestone.”

Gonzales said Rosete had 30 warrants of arrest for alleged extortion, sabotage of critical infrastructure projects, and murder.

Rosets was the last in the list of high-value targets and the only remaining leader of the WMRPC, according to Gonzales.

The encounter occurred amid ongoing talks to resume the peace negotiations between communist insurgents and the Philippine government.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the armed forces will continue law enforcement operations despite the agreement between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Philippine government to come up with a framework to restart the peace talks last year.

As of December 2023, the NPA is now down to about 1,500 fighters, far from its peak of around 25,000 in 1987, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.