5 suspected communist rebels killed in Davao de Oro clash —military

Five alleged communist rebels were killed during an encounter with government troops in New Bataan, Davao de Oro on Thursday, the military said Friday.

In a statement, the 10th Infantry Division (ID) identified some of the fatalities as Jojarain Alce Nguho II alias Rain, Chad Booc alias Chad, and a certain alias Daday. The other two males were yet to be identified.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) refuted claims by the military that an encounter took place and said those killed were civilians or unarmed.

"There was no encounter in New Bataan, Davao de Oro, yesterday, where the AFP claims it killed activist Chad Booc and four others. This was confirmed to us by the local NPA unit in the area," CPP information officer Marco Valbuena wrote on Twitter.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines' ‘encounter’ claim is an outright lie. This would not be the first time. The AFP's 'killed in an encounter' storyline has repeatedly been used in the past to cover up the cold-blooded murder of civilians or unarmed people,” he added.

The military said Booc was one of the persons arrested in a Bakwit school in San Carlos University – Talamban Campus in Cebu City for alleged trafficking of indigenous people from Talaingod, Davao del Norte.

He was later released together with six others following the decision of a court in Cebu, the military added.

Meanwhile, the military said Nguho was allegedly a scholar of the communist rebel group.

Troops from the 1001st Infantry Brigade encountered the group of suspected rebels, supposedly under the leadership of Eric Jun Casilao alias Wally/Ellan and Leo Lacumbo alias Ole, in Purok-8, Barangay Andap.

They recovered an M653 rifle, a caliber 45  pistol, a hand grenade, an anti-personnel mine, assorted food supplies, and personal belongings, after a 15-minute firefight.—Joviland Rita/AOL, GMA News