CEBU CITY – An operational breakthrough.

This was how the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7) described the neutralization of alleged top New People’s Army (NPA) leaders in an encounter in Barangay Campagao, Bilar town, Bohol province on Friday morning, February 23.

Police Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin, chief of PRO-7, said the five NPA members who died in a three-hour encounter were dreaded members of the Bohol Party Committee (BPC).

They were identified as Domingo Ompoc, Parlito Segovia, Marlon Omosura, Hannah Joy Cesista, and a certain Juaning.

The PRO-7 said Ompoc was the squad leader of the remnants of the BPC and was the former commanding officer of the Sandatahang Yunit Pangpropaganda (SYP) platoon. He was also tagged as a most wanted person in Bohol.

“This is an operational breakthrough in our fight against the communists-terrorists in Bohol, neutralizing the remaining leaders of their decades of terrorism and extortion victimizing innocent civilians.  We call on the Boholanos to unite to help the government to finally defeat these heartless criminals who seek to destroy our peace and liberty,” Aberin said.

While they scored a major blow against the NPA, the PRO-7 also mourned the death of Police Corporal Gilbert Amper, who died in the encounter.

“The death of our hero cop will not be in vain and we shall continue doing our job well to give his sacrifices an everlasting meaning in the memory of his family and the Filipino people,” Aberin said.

Aberin said the encounter broke out when operatives of the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) served warrants of arrest against the members of BPC, the dismantled guerrilla front operating in Bohol.

He said PRO-7 operatives, assisted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, were able to determine the suspects’ locations after a month-long intelligence operation.

When the location of the targets was pinpointed, “Oplan: Hagorn,” the Bohol Police Counter-Insurgency and Anti-Terrorism Plan, was immediately launched, Aberin disclosed.

“The overall planning was conceptualized under BPPO’s 'Oplan: T-Strike Fury' under the code name ‘Game Over of COPLAN Aquila’ which was intended to finally arrest and neutralize the remaining very elusive remnants of BPC known in the underground as ‘Silong,’” the PRO-7 said.

Seized during the operation were an M-16 baby Armalite rifle, an R4 M16 rifle, an M16 rifle, and three .45 caliber pistols.

Clearing operations are still ongoing, the PRO-7 said.