Armyand 1 NPA killed in North Cotabato clash

KIDAPAWAN CITY – A communist guerilla was killed and several others were wounded when they clashed with government troops in a remote village in Makilala, North Cotabato Friday and Saturday. Senior Inspector Elias Colonia, chief of the Makilala municipal police station, identified the slain rebel as Rojit Ranara of Front 51 of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA).Colonel Harold Argamosa, commanding officer of the 39thInfantry Battalion, said Ranara’s body was taken by Makilala Mayor Rudy Caoagdan where he was given a decent burial.Rojit’s sister, Lolita, said they were surprised to learn that their brother was killed in an armed encounter with government troops.His brother left their town in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur to work in a construction firm in North Cotabato. We didn’t know he would join the NPA.This is sad, Lolita said.Argamosa said the encounter on January 21 happened when the Makilala PNP and the Army received reports that an armed group was seen massing at Sitio Lukatong, Barangay Biangan in Makilala. A day before the incident, a 10-wheeler truck driven by Delio Tongcos of the Santos Land Development Corporation was flagged down along Barangay Malasila road.Four armed men who identified themselves as NPAs took the key from the driver.Extortion was believed the motive behind the incident, Argamosa, in a press briefing, said.On January 21, Argamosa sent his men in the area, led by 2ndLt. Rainer Serrano, to check whether the NPAs were indeed massing in troops.Before they could reach the area, Serrano and his team were attacked by at least 20 armed guerillas.The exchange of fires lasted for at least an hour, according to Argamosa.Joy Mirasol, chair of the Karapatan-North Cotabato, condemned the military offensives in Makilala town and considered the attacks as clear violation of the unilateral ceasefire.Mirasol said they already conducted a quick documentation of what happened from January 21 to January 22. We intend to submit results of our quick response to the GRP-NDFP panel as proof the Army in North Cotabato has violated the truce, said Mirasol. A spokesperson for the communist movement in Southern Mindanao,Rigoberto Sanchez, said in a statement that eight soldiers and a New Peoples Army rebel were killed in the clashes in Barangay Biangan, Makilala, North Cotabato on Saturday night.But the 10th ID was mum on the alleged death of eight government troops.The clashes erupted amid peace talks between the government and NPA leaders in Rome.