The 93rd IB soldiers killed three New People’s Army (NPA)-Leyte Island (Mt. Amandewin Command) Red fighters in Barangay Pange, Jaro, Leyte on November 17. The three were identified as Fidel Lagado (Ka Rod/Ka Jason), Maricel Anora (Ka Yenyen/Ka Gani), and Rogelio Berino (Ka Sonny/Ka Danny).

According to the National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas (NDF-EV), the three NPA members were in the community to help farmers recover after the successive typhoons Tino and Uwan. Leyte was one of the provinces severely affected by the two typhoons.

“They were unarmed and should have been detained and treated as prisoners of war in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the NDF-EV said. The group condemned 802nd IBde commander Brig. Gen. Pompeyo Jason and the 93rd IB for their notorious tradition of disregarding and violating the protocols of war.

The NDF-EV also denounced the 802nd IBde’s false claim of having seized a carbine rifle, three pistols, rifle grenades, and documents from the red fighters. It also condemned the brigade for maligning the memory and name of the three martyred red fighters.

“Ka Rod, Ka Yenyen, and Ka Sonny offered their lives for the liberation of the suffering masses,” the group declared.