Five alleged New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, linked to the murders of 26 civilians since 2025, were killed during a series of clashes with the 15th Infantry Battalion in Cauayan, Negros Occidental, Saturday, May 16.
The fatalities were members of the NPA’s South-West Front, Komiteng-Rehiyon Negros, responsible for the liquidation of 23 civilians in 2025 and three this year in Negros Island, Brig. Gen. Jason Jumawan, commander of the Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade, said Sunday.
They killed innocent civilians whom they tagged as government informants, he said.
The five alleged rebels killed in Saturday’s encounter were Rolando Dantes Jr. alias Ana, Anyo, Arnel and Roman, commander of the front operational command of the South-West Front, Jobert Casipong alias John, Gilbert Tingson alias Ryan and Kolintong, Alex Chavez Languita alias Axel and Francis Vince Dingding alias Poy, Jumawan said.
Numerous warrants of arrest for multiple murder had been issued against Dantes, he said.
The five killed were part of a group of 10 rebels encountered by the 15th IB soldiers at 5:50 a.m., 7:20 a.m., 2 p.m. and past 5 p.m. on Saturday,Jumawan said.
Jumawan said 64 families with 168 individuals evacuated from barangays Abaca and Poblacion following the encounters as a safety precaution.
Recovered from the encounter site were an M-14 rifle, an M60 machine gun, five M-16 rifles, an M203 grenade launcher, a grenade, and four backpacks with personal belongings, the 302nd IB reported.
Jumawan said “the continued collapse of communist terrorist formations in Negros reflects the growing rejection of violent armed struggle by communities once exploited through intimidation, extortion, deception, and fear”.
Residents in Cauayan have increasingly cooperated with authorities by providing information on the presence and movement of armed communist remnants hiding in remote areas, he said.
Jumawan said military operations remain focused on protecting civilians and preventing the remnants of the communist terrorist movement from re-establishing influence in vulnerable communities.
He reiterated the government’s call for remaining rebels to surrender peacefully and avail themselves of reintegration programs before more lives are lost.
“It’s unfortunate that many lives were lost, but the troops had to defend the community who are victims of the Communist Terrorist Group’s senseless killings by spy-tagging innocent civilians,” he added.
MGen. Michael G Samson, commander of the 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division, said that the successful neutralization of five rebels is a significant setback for the NPA.
Samson assured that the Army will sustain intensified focused military operations to prevent the fleeing rebels from regrouping and to thwart any attempt to sow fear and disrupt the peaceful lives of innocent civilians.*
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