2 NPA leaders killed in clash with army troops in Negros

Two regional leaders of the New People's Army (NPA), Hans 'Jojo' Ponteras, aged mid-40s, and Marissa Pobresa, 23, were killed in a clash with troops from the Philippine Army's 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental on Saturday morning.

Ponteras was identified as the acting regional front secretary and finance officer of the Regional Taxation Implementing Group of Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor; Pobresa served as the unit's communications officer and had been recruited to the NPA when she was 16.

The clash took place in Hacienda Paraiso, Barangay Caduha-an around 1:50 a.m., involving about seven NPA rebels with no casualties on the military side. Troops recovered firearms, grenades, and subversive documents including extortion letters allegedly signed by Ponteras under an alias.

Lieutenant Colonel Arnel Calaoagan, commander of the 79IB, described their deaths as a significant blow to the communist group not only in Negros but also throughout Western and Central Visayas.