BACOLOD CITY — Four suspected members of the New People's Army (NPA), including a high-ranking official were killed in a clash with the local police and the Army's 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Barangay San Pablo, Manapla, Negros Occidental on Thursday, Sept. 30.
Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde), identified one of the casualties as Marilyn Badayos, an alleged head of finance and taxation responsible for extortion activities, and former secretary of the SouthEastern Front based in Negros Oriental.
Pasaporte said the three other fatalities remain unidentified.
Pasaporte said Badayos was previously arrested in Siaton, Negros Oriental in 2016, after she was linked to an ambush in the province that claimed the life of a soldier in Bais City in 2014.
Badayos was also linked to the ambush in Candoni, Negros Occidental that resulted in the killing of two policemen in 2016.
Badayos was also arrested here in 2011 by virtue of an arrest warrant for rebellion.
However, Pasaporte said that Badayos was able to post bail for the said offenses.
Authorities recovered from the encounter site a .38 caliber, a .45 caliber, two grenades, cellular phones, flash drives, and subversive documents.
Pasaporte said these rebels were believed to be the same armed men that were encountered by the soldiers in Barangay Kapitan Ramon, Silay City, Negros Occidental on August 20, 2021 that resulted in the death of one soldier, and two rebels, including a high-ranking official of Northern Negros Front - Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor.