| Photo by Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A man who is said to be a rebel commander was killed in a shootout with authorities while hiding in a mountain barangay in Cebu City late night on Sunday, October 11.
Denis Rodinas, a commander of the New People’s Army (NPA) that is operating in Davao del Norte, died while he was trying to flee, according to initial reports from the Regional Intelligence Division (RID) of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7).
RID together with personnel of the Philippine Army’s Central Command (Centcom) were supposed to serve a warrant for Rodinas arrest, but he instead engaged law enforcers in a shootout as he tried to flee.
His warrant was in relation to the abduction, murder, and attempted murder charges that were earlier filed against him.
The RID report said that Rodinas has been hiding in Barangay Pung-ol for a month now and claims to be a resident of Consolacion town in northern Cebu.
Police said they are still conducting follow-up investigations to determine how Rodinas managed to enter Cebu and to identify his local contacts. / dcb