Two alleged members of the New People's Army (NPA) were killed in a series of firefight between soldiers and communist rebels in the boundary of Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur, the military reported on Sunday.
Brigadier General Allan Hambala, commander of 401st Infantry Brigade (401IBde), identified one of the slain rebels as Marcelino Navarro, who was the deputy secretary and head of Education and Propaganda of the NPA's North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC).
Meanwhile, the other male corpse has yet to be identified.
The military also seized an NPA camp with makeshift structures and bunkers, which can accommodate 60 to 80 people. It was situated about eight kilometers away from the nearest community in Sitio Panukmoan, Barangay Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao Del Sur.
According to Hambala, they have stepped up their offensives "to stop the senseless killing spree" of the Communist rebels of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and prevent the supposed planned burning of the newly constructed Department of Education (Deped) IP school in Sitio Simuwao, Brgy. Diatagon.
"We have intensified our security operations in the said area after receiving successive reports from the IP communities that a large group of NPAs are intruding inside their ancestral domains and threatening them," Hambala said.
"The NPAs have already mercilessly murdered four innocent tribe members since July 6," he added.
On July 6, a certain Jomar Ignacio Engayas, 46, was shot dead by suspected NPA rebels in San Miguel, Surigao del Sur.
Meanwhile, Paquito Maca Badiang, was gunned down on July 9 in a mountainous area in Tago, Surigao del Sur.
The two other victims by the NPA were Jandi Limbona, 23, a farmer and Noel Estampa, 49, who were killed in Mat-I, Surigao City on July 11.