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Military says Mindanao's top communist rebel killed in Davao de Oro

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Mico Abarro, ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - The top leader of the New People&#x27;s Army in Mindanao has been killed in an encounter with government forces in Davao de Oro, the military said Thursday.</p><p>Menandro Villanueva, alias &quot;Bok&quot;, died during a clash Barangay Libudon, Mabini town on Wednesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines Eastern Mindanao Command said.</p><p>Lt. Gen. Greg Almerol, EastMinCom chief, said in a statement that Villanueva was the longest serving and most wanted communist rebel in Mindanao, being one of the founding members of the NPA.</p><p>Villanueva was wanted for such charges as multiple murder, double frustrated murder, arson, robbery with intimidation, and rebellion, said Almerol.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/03/21/2-arestado-sa-bakbakan-ng-npa-militar-sa-davao-norte">READ: 2 arestado sa bakbakan ng NPA, militar sa Davao del Norte</a></li></ul><p>His death is a major blow to the NPA and it will take the communist rebel group time to replace such a seasoned leader, added the military commander.</p><p>&quot;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,&quot; Almerol said. </p><p>The EastMinCom said it had so far neutralized 17 top NPA members and recorded 545 surrenders since the first quarter of 2021. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/16/21/bato-says-duterte-administration-will-end-communist-insurgency-in-2022">READ: Bato says ending communist insurgency in PH will be among Duterte&#x27;s legacies</a></li></ul><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1724709" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The commander of the AFP's Eastern Mindanao Command says the death of Menandro Villanueva is a 'major blow' to the New People's Army.

Military says Mindanao's top communist rebel killed in Davao de Oro

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Military says Mindanao's top communist rebel killed in Davao de Oro

Mico Abarro,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 06, 2022 08:09 PM PHT

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NPA

AFP

Armed Forces of the Philippines

Davao de Oro

Menandro Villanueva

New People's Army

Eastern Mindanao Command

NPA leader

NPA leader killed

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