Three New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were killed while another was wounded in an encounter on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 29, in Barangay Huyon-huyon, San Francisco, Quezon.

Authorities identified the three fatalities as Joseph delos Santos, alias “Ken,” Danica Lagrama, alias “Allen,” and an alias “Rustom.”

The wounded was Jose de la Cruz, alias “Arci,” who was taken to the San Francisco Municipal Hospital.

They are members of Platon Reymark, Sub-Regional Military Area 4-B of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee, the Police Regional Office 4-A said.

De los Santos was allegedly involved in several atrocities such as arson in San Francisco in February 2017, torching of construction heavy equipment, and killing of an officer and two enlisted personnel in February 2021. He had 46 warrants of arrest.

Police and military units were pursuing the communist guerrillas fleeing an earlier encounter in San Andres, Quezon and caught up with them in the area at around 4:45 p.m., resulting in an another firefight that lasted for almost an hour.

The NPA rebels withdrew towards the hinterlands of Barangay Huyon-huyon and soldiers recovered three converted AK47s and bandoliers during the clearing operation.

Police and military are still pursuing the rebels.

Police stations on the Bondoc Peninsula Highway and the Highway Patrol Group are monitoring roads leading to San Francisco and San Andres to ward off the retrieval of the fatalities’ remains and rescue of the escaping rebels.