NPA leader killed in Sorsogon encounter
LEGAZPI CITY — A top rebel leader facing multiple charges was killed in an encounter in Sorsogon province on Tuesday, Maj. Frank Roldan, spokesman for the Philippine Army’s 9th Infantry Division, told The Manila Times on Wednesday.
Roldan identified the casualty as Jose Arnel Esteller, 57, with aliases as Mando/Arnel/Ariston, and concurrent secretary of the subregional committee 3 of the Bicol Regional Party Committee (BRPC).
Roldan said that troops belonging to the 22nd Infantry Battalion encountered three New People’s Army (NPA) members who were hiding in a hut in Barangay Biriran,
Juban, Sorsogon, which resulted in a brief firefight and the death of Esteller.
“A 30-minute exchange of fires resulted in the death of an unidentified NPA and the confiscation of an M653 rifle, ammunition and other personal items. Relatives of the fatality positively identified him as Jose Arnel E. Esteller,” the Army’s regional spokesman said.
“Although he was the secretary of NPA in Sorsogon, he was one of top NPA leaders not only in Sorsogon province as he was considered as adviser of other provinces and of the Bicol Regional Party Committee for serving 39 years in the guerrilla movement,” he told The Manila Times.
According to Roldan, Esteller entered the rebel movement in 1985 as a member and later became the secretary of the NPA assigned across the province of Sorsogon.
“Esteller is the father of the captured NPA in Batangas, Jose Marie Esteller, alias Maria/Bagi, leader of the Guerrilla-Sorsogon Combat Unit,” he said.
Roldan said that the fallen NPA leader was responsible for a series of extortion, attacks against authorities and other violence initiated by the NPA in Sorsogon. He was also facing multiple charges of murder and frustrated murder.
Roldan said Esteller repeatedly ignored the invitations of the authorities for him and his family to embrace the fold of law so he can go back to the mainstream of the society and live a peaceful life with his family.
“Esteller’s death can be considered a great success, not only for the authorities but especially for the people of Sorsoganon as they can live peacefully,” Roldan said. No one was reported injured or killed on the government’s side.
Army Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao, commanding general of the Army’s 9th ID, urged the remaining NPA members in Bicol to abandon the communist movement and return to the fold of law so they may not suffer the same fate as Esteller.
“May this serve as a lesson to the remaining NPAs to surrender before it’s too late or while they still have time to be with their family,” the top Army official in Bicol said.