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ILIGAN CITY – A high-ranking New People’s Army (NPA) officer in western Mindanao was killed in a clash with government troops on the night of Friday, November 13, in the city of Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte.
The Division Public Relations Office (DPAO) of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division identified the guerrilla Leonido Nabong, who also goes by the alias Coco and Baste.
Nabong was wounded in a 45-minute shootout and was still breathing when troops found him at the meeting site, according to Captain Clint Antipala, head of DPAO.
Soldiers tried to revive him without success, Antipala added.
The meeting place is about 10 kilometers from the city of Tampilisan proper.
In a statement issued by the DPAO, Nabong was identified by former NPA rebels who surrendered to the army.
Nabong is said to be a member of the Mindanao Commission of the Communist Party of the Philippines, while also serving as deputy secretary of the Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee (WMRPC).
“Coco or Baste, as we commonly know him, was one of the remaining pillars, the oldest and toughest personality of the WMRPC,” said Lieutenant Colonel Don Templonuevo, commander of the Army’s 44th Infantry Battalion.
Government forces seized four M16 rifles, one M14 rifle, and one M203 grenade launcher left by Nabong’s group as they drove away.
CFC
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