By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
Government troops killed five communist rebels in a fierce clash Thursday morning in the Philippines' southeastern Luzon Island, according to the military.
Major Calixto Cadano Jr., spokesperson for the 5th Infantry Division, said the clash erupted during security operations after villagers tipped the military off about the presence of New People's Army (NPA) guerillas, who were allegedly extorting them in Abra province.
He added that while five rebels were killed, no casualties were reported on the government side.
Army troops recovered five high-powered firearms from the rebels.
Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said the NPA rebels had lost their ideological mooring and were now engaging in extortion activities.
Earlier, the NPA had released a video of two soldiers whom they say are their prisoners of war.
Military efforts are ongoing to locate and rescue the two privates, identified as privates Marnel Cinches and Jerrel Yorong, who were captured August 22 in Bukidnon province in Mindanao – the Philippines’ second largest and southernmost major island.
The NPA -- the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) -- has been waging an insurgency since 1969 that has left tens of thousands of people dead.
Philippine authorities have tagged the NPA rebels as notorious extortionists and blamed them for harassing banana, pineapple and rubber plantations, as well as poultry farms and mining outfits.
President Benigno Aquino III had aimed to reach a peace deal with the communists by the end of his term in 2016. But the government last year said talks had collapsed due to rebel demands that detained comrades be freed.
In March, Aquino was quoted as saying that the resumption of peace talks with the communist rebels would depend on the willingness of the NPA to cooperate with the government.
Aquino issued the statement after authorities arrested CPP chair Benito Tiamzon and his wife, the party's secretary general, Wilma Tiamzon.
Another suspected communist leader – Andrea Rosal, daughter of late rebel spokesperson Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal - was arrested March 27.
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