NDFP consultant Rogelio Posadas killed by military after alleged encounter
MANILA, Philippines — Another top communist leader was gunned down by the military after an alleged gunfight in Negros Occidental, according to the 303rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Army claimed that they had killed Posadas, also known as "Putin", after a series of encounters in the boundaries of Isabela and Balbagan on April 20.
The 303 IB claimed that Posadas is the "top leader" of the New People's Army's Komiteng Rehiyon- Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor (KR-NCBS), who was responsible for "assassinations, extortions, kidnappings, arsons and other forms of violence against innocent civilians and government personalities."
The military said the revolutionary was identified through the help of informants and former rebels who earlier surrendered to the 94IB. His remains are reported to be at Soledad Funeral Homes, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental.
"The death of the Communist NPA terrorists top regional leader Rogelio Posadas is a result of the local resident’s vigilance and their full trusts to the government," said 303rd Brigade Commander Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin in a statement.
"The encounter also manifests the continuing loss of support of the NPA terrorists in the communities. This is another victory for all the countless victims of the KR-NCBS in Negros island in particular and in the region in general."
The news came just days after the Communist Party of the Philippines, who leads the NPA's armed struggle against foreign intervention, landlessness and government corruption, confirmed the death of their chairperson Benito Tiamzon and their secretary general Wilma Tiamzon.
While the state regards them as "terrorists," a Manila court dismissed the Department of Justice's plea to declare them as such in September 2022.
'A missing NDFP consultant riding with civilians'
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) on Friday called on state forces to surface Posadas alongside his companion "Ka Mikmik" and two motorcycle drivers who were said to be with them while traveling in Isabela, Negros Occidental.
"We believe Posadas and the other three were intercepted by state agents along the road. They are missing since April 19, around 6 p.m. They never reached their destination," according to NDFP-Negros spokesperson Ka Bayani Obrero in a statement Friday.
"After experiences in the past wherein revolutionaries were captured and then declared casualties in fake encounters, we are very concerned for our comrades' safety in the hands of fascist state forces."
The NDFP, an umbrella organization of underground revolutionaries from different sectors, pleaded with the government to release the two motorcycle drivers as they were only rented to transport Posadas and Ka Mikmik.
Obrero said the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must be made to answer should Posadas and his companions were harmed in any way, "in violation of internal humanitarian law and protocols of war."
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