GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Security forces killed a New People’s Army (NPA) rebel and arrested his 18-year-old companion in an encounter in Maitum, Sarangani last Friday, August 12.
Major Gen. Roy Galido, 6th Infantry Division commander, said Army soldiers belonging to Task Group Bangis figured in a clash with NPA rebels while conducting combat operations in the vicinity of Barangay Zion.
Galido identified the slain rebel as Gilbert Matigkal, 23, while the captured rebel was Ronel Matingkal, 18, both members of NPA Guerilla Front 73 and residents of Barangay New La Union, Maitum.
The military has yet to determine if the suspects are relatives.
Troops seized a .45-caliber pistol from the captured rebel.
Galido said the military had intensified offensives against local communist insurgents in Central Mindanao which resulted into the killing of 11 NPA rebels and the surrender of some 100 guerrillas since January this year.
He urged the remaining NPA members to return to the fold of the law and avail of the peace and reconciliation initiatives of the government through the Comprehensive Local Integration Program undertaken by local governments.