NPA commander’s body found in Isabela

CAMP MELCHOR DELA CRUZ, Upi, Gamu, Isabela: The body of an alleged commander of the New People’s Army in Cagayan Valley was exhumed on Wednesday, two days after he was killed in an encounter with the military.

SLAIN NPA COMMANDER The body of Rosalio Canlubas alias Ka Yuni is exhumed from a grave in Dingading, San Guillermo, Isabela on March 17, 2021. Canlubas was killed in an encounter with the military on March 15 and was buried by his comrades in the village. Residents had tipped off the troops on the NPA leader’s body. PHOTO FROM THE 86TH INFANTRY BATTALION

Rosalio Canlubas alias Ka Yuni of Calinan, Davao City was found in a shallow grave through villagers who tipped off the information in Dingading village in San Guillermo town, said Major Jekyll Julian Dulawan, 5th Infantry Division spokesman, Canlubas was killed on March 15 in a gunfight between the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and 86th Infantry Battalion in San Mariano Sur, San Guillermo, Isabela.

He was with the Regional Operations Command (ROC) and the Regional Sentro De Gravidad, Komiteng Rehiyon Cagayan Valley (KR-CV).

The rebel was also said to be a cadre known as alias Dondie from the Regional Headquarters (RHQ), Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC) before he was tasked by the Central Committee of rebels to transfer to Cagayan Valley to lead the ROC and establish the Komiteng Larangang Guerilla Quirino-Nueva Vizcaya (KLG Q-NV) of the KR-CV.

“During the encounter, the NPA leader was fatally hit and his comrades brought him to Barangay Dingading, San Guillermo, Isabela in an attempt to hide him from the pursuing government troops,” Dulawan said.

Ka Yuni led the burning of the million-worth heavy equipment and high-end utility vehicles of a mining firm in Barangay Dimaluadi, Dinapigue, Isabela on Oct. 28, 2015, he said.

Yuni also allegedly led the 100-member NPA rebels who attacked the Maddela Police Station in Quirino on the night of April 29, 2017 where they killed a policeman and seized firearms and uniforms.

Maj. Gen Laurence Mina, 5th Infantry Division commander, said the death of Yuni will eventually weaken the RSDG of KR-CV.

“The death of Alias Yuni, the commander of ROC and RSDG of KR-CV is another big blow to the terrorist CPP-NPA. He is the second high-ranking personality of the (rebels) killed in a series of encounters that transpired in the areas of responsibility this week. These losses will eventually cripple the armed group and eventually weaken the terrorist organization caused by the leadership vacuum,” he said.