The reported second-highest commander of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the whole of Mindanao and his cohort were killed in a recent clash with government forces in Bukidnon, military officials reported on Tuesday.
Pedro Codaste alias Gonyong and Serv was killed during a firefight with a combined team of policemen and soldiers on Friday, January 21, according to Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) commander Lt. Gen. Greg Almerol.
Almerol said Codaste and his cohort were killed during a 30-minute clash with government forces and about 15 rebels in Barangay Kalabugao, Impasugong, Bukidnon.
The area commander said Codaste was considered as the acting chairman of the NPA’s Komisyun Mindanao (KOMMID) after the deaths of Antonio Cabanatan, Jorge Madlos and Menandro Villanueva.
Codaste, Almerol said, was also a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) Central Committee, a consultant of the National Democratic Front and deputy secretary of the KOMMID.
According to Almerol, the rebel leader was a former secretary of the Guerilla Front 4A (GF4A) in Agusan del Sur during the early ’90s and later became the secretary of the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee in 2009.
Eastmincom spokesman Major Alex Mindalano said the combined police and military forces launched their operations at Barangay Kalabugao after villagers reported the presence of armed men, triggering a firefight between the government forces and Codaste’s group.
The operating forces recovered an AK-47 assault rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, an anti-personnel mine, three backpacks and rebel documents.
Almerol said the death of Codaste “gives justice to the victims of his atrocities in Mindanao,” noting the rebel leader had multiple warrants of arrest for murder, double frustrated murder and attempted murder from a regional trial court in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.
He said Codaste’s death should prod other rebels to surrender just like what happened after the deaths of the top leaders of the NPA in Mindanao, including Madlos.
“We are seeing a snowball of surrender in the coming days with the successful neutralization of another CTG [communist terrorist group] head. This is possible as the operational balance of the CTG continues to crumble while the morale of their followers depletes after a series of engagements with our troops,” he said.
Brig. Gen Oliver T. Vesliño, acting 4th Infantry Division (4ID) commander, for his part, lauded the joint forces for the successful operation which resulted in the death of Codaste as he was considered to succeed the top leadership in Mindanao.
“We have once again delivered justice for our people. While we extend our sympathies to the families and friends of those killed, Codaste’s death is a tangible reminder that injustices that brought suffering and numerous deaths will forever haunt us. A clearer manifestation of the people in rejecting the CPP-NPA-NDF,” Vesliño said.
He urged the remaining NPA leaders and members to avoid the same fate that Codaste had by availing of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program and to peacefully return to their families.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. With PNA report