The Department of National Defense (DND) is confident that the death of Ka Oris and Salahuddin Hassan would lead to an improvement of peace and order in Mindanao.
"The Department of National Defense commends the Armed Forces of the Philippines for its successful separate operations in Bukidnon and Maguindanao that resulted in the deaths of the leaders of New People’s Army (NPA) and Dawlah Islamiyah (DI), respectively," Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in a statement.
Ka Oris, whose real name is Jorge Madlos, was considered as the top and influential leader of the communist rebels in Mindanao while Hassan was considered as the leader of the terror group Dawlah Islamiyah in the country.
Ka Oris was killed in an encounter with the military in Bukidnod on Saturday , Oct. 30, although his wife, the spokesperson of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Northern Mindanao, disputed this and insisted that her husband was killed in ambush.
Hassan, on the other hand, was killed with his wife in Talayan town of Maguindanao on Friday, Oct. 29.
"The neutralization of Jorge Ka Oris Madlos and Salahuddin Hassan through the sustained internal security operations of our troops is a big blow to these local terrorist groups, and a manifestation of the AFP's commitment to secure the people against the threat of these lawless elements, especially in Mindanao," said Lorenzana.
"As the NPA and other local terrorist groups become weaker due to the efforts not just of the security sector but of the whole nation, we call on the public to continue supporting our bid for peace and progress in our country," he added.