2 NPA leaders killed in Quezon City

MANILA, Philippines — A New People’s Army (NPA) commander in Sierra Madre, his deputy and their lone security escort were killed in an early morning clash in Quezon City yesterday when military and police personnel tried to serve warrants for their arrest.

Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, Army spokesman, said Eleuterio Agmaliw, commander of the Larangan Guerrilla Platoon 1 (LGP1) and who goes by the aliases Ka Omeng and Ka Yano, was killed in a 45-minute firefight at Princess Anne Street, Queensland Subdivision, Damong Maliit, Novaliches at around 3:30 a.m.

Also killed were Agmaliw’s deputy Freddie Daileg, alias Ka Poldo, and their escort.

Zagala said both Agmaliw and Daileg have pending arrest warrants for the arson, murder and frustrated murder cases filed before various courts in Luzon.

“During the service of warrants, the suspects fired at the arresting officers triggering an exchange of gunfire that also resulted in the wounding of two Quezon City policemen,” he added.

Major Gen. Lenard Agustin, commander of the 7th Infantry Division, believed that “this could be the final nail on the coffin of the (Komiteng Rehiyon Gitnang Luzon) in Sierra Madre. With their leader gone, I see their imminent destruction.”

Recovered from the slain rebels were an M-16 rifle, a caliber .45 pistol, a caliber .38 revolver, two hand grenades, bomb components, cellphones, laptop and documents of high intelligence value.

Meanwhile, Malacañang said yesterday that President Duterte is still open to talking peace with the rebels despite his directive for the military to crush the NPA as it maintained that Duterte won’t tolerate attacks against government troops.

Duterte expressed willingness earlier this month to revive the negotiations with communists that he terminated in 2017 due to successive rebel offensives against the military and the police. ?The President, however, struck a combative tone during the Armed Forces’ 84th anniversary last Tuesday, ordering security forces to “crush” the NPA, the armed wing of the communists, and other groups that he said are ruining the lives of Filipinos. ?Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo clarified that Duterte’s latest statement did not close the door on peace negotiations. ?“Not necessarily because the President, as we always hear him, he always leaves a space, the window ajar for any peace negotiation with them. But he will not allow the attacks, the assaults against our forces that is why if they attempt to do that, the order is to crush them,” he said at a press briefing.  

Panelo reiterated that the government is sincere in pursuing a peace settlement with communist rebels. ?“The President has always been sincere. He always opens talks. But the problem with the other side is they keep on attacking our forces. So you cannot be standing, sitting idly and watch them terrorize or kill our own people. He does not want that. But despite that, he said, ‘I am still open and I want to talk,’” he also said.

Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison, who has been on self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987, has said that negotiations should not be held in the Philippines, believing it would put the communists and the talks under the control of the Duterte administration. – With Romina Cabrera, Artemio Dumlao, Alexis Romero