By Nanette Guadalquiver
BACOLOD CITY – Troops of the Philippine Army have brought home the body of slain New People’s Army (NPA) leader Marissa Pobresa to Barangay Tan-awan, a mountain village in Kabankalan City in southern Negros Occidental, the military confirmed on Tuesday.
Pobresa, 23, was among the two leaders of the NPA’s Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor (KR-NCBS) who died in a clash with 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) soldiers in the hinterlands of Cadiz City in northern Negros Occidental on March 8.
1Lt. Dan Carlo Samoza, 79IB civil-military operations officer, said in an interview that Pobresa’s mother received her remains from the troops in a funeral parlor before the casket was brought to their family home on Sunday.
“Whatever assistance the family needs, the Philippine Army and the government are ready to help them,” he added.
Pobresa, the KR-NCBS regional communications officer, was killed along with Hans Ponteras, in his 40s, the unit’s acting regional front secretary and finance officer of the Regional Taxation Implementing Group.
The encounter, which took place in Hacienda Paraiso, Barangay Caduha-an, involved about seven NPA rebels.
According to the 79IB’s report, Pobresa’s mother last saw her daughter more than five years ago, when she was only 17 before she was recruited by leftist groups.
She thanked the government troops for bringing home the remains of her daughter, it added.
In a statement, Lt. Col. Arnel Calaoagan, commander of 79IB, said they remain committed to upholding humanitarian values and ensuring that fallen communist rebels are returned to their families with dignity.
“We understand the pain of every parent who has lost a child to the deception of the communist-terrorist groups. We hope this serves as a wake-up call to those who are still being misled by false ideologies,” he added. (PNA)
