The military reported on Thursday that it has killed the highest commander of the communist movement in Mindanao following a clash in Davao de Oro.
The rebel was identified as Menandro Villanueva, alias Bok, whom the military said was the longest-serving secretary of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC) and the secretary of Komisyong Mindanao (KOMMID) of the Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
Villanueva was also the reported commanding officer of the National Operations Command (NOC) of the NPA and a member of the Politburo of the CPP.
Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante, commander of the Army’s 1001st Brigade, said Villanueva was killed during a firefight between troops and members of the regional headquarters of the SMRC where Villanueva was cornered in Barangay Libudon, Mabini, Davao de Oro on Wednesday evening.
Villanueva sustained gunshot wounds in various parts of his body.
The military said Villanueva was among the founding members of the NPA in Mindanao during the 1970s together with the late Edgar Jopson. During his student years at the Ateneo de Manila, he was an activist under the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) and went underground when martial law was declared.
Villanueva had reportedly supervised the operations of the CPP-NPA in the whole of Mindanao and directly controlled the operations of the NPA as head of its National Operations Command.
“The 51 years reign of terror of Menandro Villanueva is finally over. His victims were finally given justice. Alias Bok has several warrants of arrests to include multiple murder, double frustrated murder, arson, robbery with intimidation, rebellion, among others,” Durante said.