Ex-student leader, 2 other suspected NPA rebels killed in clash with Army troops in Capiz

Remy Beraye, a former student leader, was among those killed in a clash with Army troops. (Contributed photo)

ILOILO CITY — Three suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA), one of them a former student leader, was killed in a clash with Army troops in Capiz province on Tuesday afternoon.

Remy Beraye, a political science graduate of the West Visayas State University (WVSU) in Iloilo City, died in an hour-long clash with troops of the Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (61st IB) in Sitio Tigpaka Daku in Barangay Putian in Cuartero town.

Beraye, 43, was vice chairperson of the WVSU University Student Council and chair of the militant student group League of Filipino Students, according to his profile in the Spire, the university yearbook.

The two others were identified as Federico Diaz of Cuartero and Alan Lerona, a resident of Mambusao town.

No casualties were reported among the government troops.

Lt. Col Sisenando Magbalot Jr., 61st IB commander, said Diaz was the vice commander and Lerona was the finance officer of the 30-member rebel unit that clashed with the same number of soldiers.

Magbalot said the encounter happened after soldiers responded to reports that rebels were conducting “extortion activities” in the area.

Soldiers seized from the slain suspects an AK-47 rifle, an M16 rifle, a grenade, two laptop computers, cellphones, and personal belongings.

He said the death of the alleged rebel leaders was “big blow” to the NPA in Panay.

In a post on its Facebook page, the underground rebel newspaper Daba-Daba lauded the three rebels.

“Red salute Ka Val, Ka Bong, Ka Remy. The people’s army and the masses will draw strength, determination and resoluteness from the wisdom, abilities, and life you have sacrificed in defeating the enemy,” according to the post. /atm