DUMAGUETE CITY - A suspected member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) was killed in a clash with government forces in the remote hinterland of Barangay Talalak in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental on Friday.

Lt. Col. Roderick Salayo, commanding officer of the 11th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Siaton, Negros Oriental, told the Philippine News Agency that the body of the rebel was recovered following the encounter at Sitio Tamusi, Barangay Talalak.

He remains unidentified but is believed to be from Barangay Nagbinlod at the southern Negros Oriental town.

An initial report from the 11IB said the firefight lasted for eight minutes between a group of suspected NPA members and a composite team of soldiers, local town police, and the 705th Maneuver Company of the Regional Mobile Force.

Government troops also recovered one KG-9mm rifle, one magazine of KG-9mm with 20 rounds of live ammunition, one magazine of M-16 rifle with eight rounds of ammunition, one magazine with three rounds of .45 caliber ammunition, one bandolier, two hand-held radios, one backpack, and suspected subversive documents.

"Pursuit operations continue in the hinterlands of Sta. Catalina while efforts are now being made to transport the cadaver of the deceased suspected NPA rebel to a funeral parlor either in Sta. Catalina or Siaton," Salayo said.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, 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)