LUCENA CITY — The New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Batangas province suffered another blow after one of their leaders, a female fighter, and two others were killed in a clash with government forces in Rosario town on Tuesday.
In a report, the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division identified the slain communist guerrillas as Junalice “Arya” Arante Isita, alleged secretary of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee operating in Batangas; and Bernardo “John Paul” Bagaas and Erickson “Ricky” Bedonia, tagged as the NPA’s collectors of the so-called revolutionary tax.
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Isita’s husband, Isagani, also an NPA leader, was killed by government forces in Sariaya, Quezon, in July last year, the military said.
‘Substantial blow’
The death of Isita was a “substantial blow to the NPA’s leadership and their reorganization effort in Batangas province,” the Army report said.
The three were killed during a 30-minute firefight with soldiers who were on patrol in Barangay Leviste (Tubahan) of the town and were left behind by their retreating comrades, the report said.
The government troops also recovered an M16 rifle, a baby Armalite rifle, an M4 Bushmaster rifle, six jungle packs, and bomb-making materials, it added.