REBELS' FIREARMS.Some of the firearms recovered by military and police troops after their encounter with CPP-NPA rebels in Barangay Santol, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental on Wednesday (July 6, 2022). The four slain rebels were behind the ambush of personnel of the Binalbagan Municipal Police Station in February, the Philippine Army said on Thursday (July 7, 2022).(Photos courtesy of 303rd Infantry Brigade, Philippine Army) BACOLOD CITY -The four Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA) rebels killed during an encounter with joint military and police forces in southern Negros Occidental on Wednesday were behind the ambush of personnel of the Binalbagan Municipal Police Station in February. This was confirmed by the Philippine Army's 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde) on Thursday after identifying the fatalities, who all belonged to the NPA's Central Negros 2 - Komiteng Rehiyon Negros. They were Roel "Berio" Sagon, 30, leader of Squad 3, a resident of Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City; Rowel "Jing-Jing/Caloy" Udtuhan, 40, assistant squad leader, of Barangay San Antonio, Himamaylan City; Alden "Bigboy" Rodriguez, 20, squad member, of Barangay Bantolinao, Manjuyod, Negros Oriental; and Nika "Sarah Jane/Chai" Ledesma, 20, political guide, of Cebu City. At past 9 a.m. on Wednesday, the rebels clashed with troops from the 94th Infantry Battalion (IB), 33rd Division Reconnaissance Company, and the Negros Occidental Police Mobile Force Company in Sitio Amilis, Barangay Santol in Binalbagan town. On February 13 this year, Lt. Charles Richard Casalan, deputy chief of the Binalbagan Municipal Police Station, and Cpl. Julius Tranquillero were injured when the NPA fighters detonated an anti-personnel mine by the roadside after their encounter in Barangay Bi-ao. The policemen were responding to a call for assistance when the rebels fired at them, and when they fired back, the enemy set off the landmine. Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of 303IBde, said the slain rebels were deceptively recruited for the ideology they do not even understand. He added that out of respect for the rebels' families, the Philippine Army would no longer publish photographs of their cadavers. After the clash, troops recovered an M-16 rifle with an attached M203 grenade launcher, two M-16 rifles, an AK-47 rifle, an M-14 rifle, and a caliber .45 pistol, along with more than a hundred rounds of live ammunition and several long and short magazines. Other items found included two bolos, four bandoliers, hammocks, blankets, medicines, food items, and personal belongings. In a statement, Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, commended the soldiers and their police counterparts for their persistence in defeating the communist rebels on Negros Island. "The demise of the four rebels is a big blow to the CPP-NPA on the island. It is a result of the relentless combat operations of our troops from the 94IB with the support of member-agencies of National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and the people of Negros," he added. The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as "an integral and inseparable part" of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973. (PNA) }