A New People's Army officer identified as a mid-level commander was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon after government troops clashed with armed rebels in the interior barangays of Baybay City, Leyte — an encounter that the Philippine Army says was triggered by a civilian tip about extortion activity in nearby communities.
The Philippine Army's 8th Infantry Division (8ID) confirmed the death and identified the slain rebel as Erwin Murillo Maceda, also known by his alias "Romnick." According to the 8ID, Maceda held the position of Vice Team Leader 1 of Island Committee Levox, operating under the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Soldiers Deployed After Residents Reported Extortion in the Area
The 8ID said in a statement that soldiers belonging to the 802nd Infantry Brigade were dispatched to Barangay Caridad after a local resident reported the presence of armed individuals allegedly collecting money and food from people in nearby communities. Troops moved into the area to verify the report, and a firefight broke out upon contact with the armed group.
The armed confrontation lasted approximately five minutes, according to the 8ID. At the conclusion of the encounter, soldiers recovered one M16 rifle from the site where Maceda was killed. No other weapons were listed in the division's initial report.
The 8th Infantry Division is headquartered at Camp Lukban in Catbalogan City, Samar, and has jurisdiction over military operations across Eastern Visayas.
Brigade Commander Ties Slain Rebel to Pattern of Civilian Threats
Brig. Gen. Pompeyo Jason Almagro, the commanding officer of the 802nd Infantry Brigade, said Maceda and the group he operated with had been linked to a range of activities targeting civilians and local government officials in Leyte. These allegedly included extortion, intimidation of residents and business owners, and attacks on government security infrastructure.
The military acknowledged that no supporting case documents were released alongside these claims, and that the allegations have not been adjudicated in a court of law.
"The people of Leyte have endured years of fear, intimidation, and disruption caused by armed groups. We will not allow these conditions to return to communities that have worked hard to achieve peace," Almagro was quoted as saying in the 8ID's official statement.
Almagro also credited the civilian informant for enabling troops to respond before the situation could escalate further, and he encouraged other residents to continue cooperating with government forces by sharing information about armed group activity in their areas.
Baybay City Remains Outside SIPSC Declaration List
The 8ID characterized the Tuesday encounter as evidence of the communist movement attempting to regain a foothold in communities where peace and security conditions had previously stabilized. The division framed the incident as a failed re-entry effort by the NPA.
However, Baybay City itself has not yet received a Stable Internal Peace and Security Condition (SIPSC) declaration, according to figures the 93rd Infantry Battalion released in July. The battalion reported that Tacloban City, Baybay City, and the municipalities of Carigara, Jaro, and Albuera were the five remaining local government units in Leyte still without SIPSC status — out of a total of 43 LGUs across the province.
The absence of this designation indicates that Baybay City continues to be treated as an active operational area by both military planners and insurgent forces, making Tuesday's clash consistent with a broader pattern of ongoing counterinsurgency activity in that part of Leyte.
8ID Calls on Remaining Rebels to Lay Down Arms
In the wake of the encounter, the 8th Infantry Division renewed its appeal to NPA members still operating in the field to surrender and take advantage of the government's reintegration programs while they remain open. The military has repeatedly issued similar calls as part of its broader campaign to reduce armed communist activity in Eastern Visayas.
As of the time of publication, neither the New People's Army nor the National Democratic Front had released any statement responding to the 8ID's account of the encounter or acknowledging Maceda's death.
By the Numbers
- 5 minutes — approximate duration of the firefight in Barangay Caridad, Baybay City
- 1 M16 rifle recovered by soldiers from the encounter site
- 5 Leyte local government units still without a Stable Internal Peace and Security Condition (SIPSC) declaration, as of July
- 43 total LGUs in Leyte province
Why This Matters
The death of a named NPA officer in Baybay City reflects the Philippine Army's sustained counterinsurgency pressure in Eastern Visayas, where the 8ID says communist armed groups have been attempting to reassert presence in communities that had previously stabilized. The fact that Baybay City remains one of only five Leyte LGUs without a SIPSC declaration confirms it is still considered an active insurgency zone, giving the encounter strategic significance beyond a single casualty. The incident also illustrates how civilian intelligence reporting has become a central tool in the military's ground-level operations against the NPA.
Source: Originally reported by wire reports