Ex-CEGP member’s remains found

MANILA, Philippines — The remains of an alleged member of the New People’s Army (NPA) were recovered last Saturday by the military and police in Baggao, Cagayan after they received information from a tipster and former rebel, according to a news report posted yesterday on the Facebook page of the Cagayan Provincial Information Office.

The tip prompted the 501st Infantry Brigade and the Philippine National Police Region 2 to take action that led to the discovery of the body of Justine Bautista alias Aira, reportedly a medical officer and political guide of the Northern Front Regional Committee-Cagayan Valley and a former student of Cagayan State University, in the town’s Sitio Kapanisuwan, Barangay Bitag.

Before joining the armed movement, Bautista was a member of the Kabataan and College Editor’s Guild of the Philippines, the report said.

Bautista’s NPA comrades just buried Bautista’s remains after she was killed in an encounter in June 2017 in a raid by the NPA/Northern Front on a military camp in San Jose, Baggao, according to the ex-rebel tipster.

The leadership of the 5th Infantry Division (5ID) of the Philippine Army extended its condolences to the relatives of Bautista.

“It’s unfortunate that after alias Aira was killed, she was buried just like that without being given a decent wake. What’s worse is that she was a child of the commander of the NPA operating here in Cagayan. This is the result of the deception of the CPP-NPA rebels on the youth and students,” 5ID commander Maj. Gen. Laurence Mina lamented in Filipino.

“I hope no one among our youth will experience what happened to alias Aira because of joining the NPA,” Mina added.