MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Army on Monday denied the claim of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) that five New People’s Army fighters were captured, tortured, and killed in Bilar, Bohol.
The Philippine Army spokesperson, Col. Louie Dema-Ala, told INQUIRER. net that the joint police and military operations were legitimate.
“We deny their accusations,” Dema-ala said.
“We will not dignify their statement. If they think a massacre occurred there, we are open to any investigation.”
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CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena earlier claimed that Domingo Compoc, Hannah Cesista, Parlito Historia, Marlon Omosura, and Alberto Sancho “were all captured alive and taken into custody.”
“There is no truth to the lie being circulated by the police that the five were killed in an encounter,” Valbuena said in a statement on Sunday.
“Local residents attest that no encounter took place that morning,” he continued.
“What people witnessed was the brutality of the military and police combat troops, torturing and killing the five revolutionaries.”
The Feb. 23 encounter occurred in Sitio Matin-ao 2, Barangay Campagao, which also resulted in the death of a police officer.
The encounter occurred amid ongoing talks to resume the peace negotiations between communist insurgents and the Philippine government.
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Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the armed forces will continue law enforcement operations despite the agreement between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Philippine government to come up with a framework to restart the peace talks last year.
As of December 2023, the NPA is now down to about 1,500 fighters, far from its peak of around 25,000 in 1987, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
