Mindanao's Top NPA Leader Killed in Davao de Oro Clash

NSFA, Panacan, Davao City – The AFP's Eastern Mindanao Command recorded another breakthrough following the death of a notorious NPA terrorist leader in Mabini, Davao de Oro on Wednesday, January 5.

 

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LtGen. Greg Almerol, Commander of the EastMinCom identified the Communist NPA Terrorist (CNT) as Menandro Villanueva alias Bok, the longest-serving and most wanted CNT leader in Mindanao who was killed in a clash against government troops in Brgy Libudon.

Villanueva held key positions in the CTG organization in Mindanao and is a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

 
He was among the founding members of the NPA along with Edgar Jopson in the 1970s and was associated with the CTG as a student at the Philippine Science High School where he became an activist under the Kabataang Makabayan (KM). Throughout his 51 years with the CTGs, he was wanted for several charges including multiple murder, double frustrated murder, arson, robbery with intimidation, and rebellion, among others.

Almerol lauded the troops for the accomplishment and the sacrifices of each member of the AFP's EastMinCom.

 

"Indeed, this new year truly means a lot in the fulfillment of our mandate to the people - to end this five decades insurgency and bring peace and development to the people of eastern Mindanao - that even I, myself along with most of our personnel did not avail of any holiday break but instead devoted our time in helping the community that was devastated during the onslaught of Typhoon "ODETTE" and personally supervise the ongoing operations within our operational jurisdiction."

"Setting aside our personal desire and time with our loved ones during the holidays, our soldiers made sure that mission accomplishment is paramount at all times," he furthered.

He also added that Villanueva’s loss left a huge void within the CTG and a major blow to their organization.

“It will take the CTG some time to replace a seasoned leader as Villanueva. As a result of this, we expect more communist terrorists to either yield to the troops or continue to suffer defeats under an inexperienced leader in the coming days."

"With this milestone, I am forever grateful to each and everyone of you for helping your Armed Forces in our quest to a just and lasting peace here in Eastern Mindanao Command," Almerol ended.

As to this report, EastMinCom has already neutralized 17 top NPA terrorists and tallied 545 surrenders since 1st Qtr 2021.