ILOILO CITY— The Philippine Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) bared on Monday that the New People’s Army (NPA) rebel who was killed in a clash last week in Miag-ao town, Iloilo province was a former student of the University of the Philippines Visayas (UP Visayas).
61IB Civil Military Officer 1st Lt. Gil Gamay identified the slain rebel as Marvin Christian Cruz.
The 21-year-old from Oton town, who was positively identified by his parents, was carrying an M-16 rifle when his body was recovered after the June 29 clash between 61 IB and the NPA.
Cruz, who had aliases of “Lucas” and “Lean”, is believed to be the leader of Squad 2 of the Suyak Platoon, which is under the NPA’s Southern Front Committee in Panay Island
“The student activist died after choosing to live in misery hiding and enduring hardships in mountains after abandoning his own freedom and family,” said 61 IB commander Lt. Col. Joel Benedict Batara.
Cruz was originally a member of the left-wing League of Filipino Students (LFS) and was recruited while a 17-year-old student, the military learned.
“This is also a clear evidence that communists continue recruiting minors and youth from target universities being the vulnerable sectors in our society,” Batara added. (Tara Yap)
