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(UPDATED: 12:30 p.m., February 23, 2024, to reflect the latest information from authorities.)

MANILA, Philippines — Five alleged communist rebels and a policeman were killed following a gun battle between government troops and suspected New People’s Army fighters in Bohol province’s Bilar town on Friday, the military said.

Army spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala told ºÚÁÏÉç in a Viber message that the encounter in Sitio Matin-ao 2, Barangay Campagaoat, started at 6:45 a.m. It happened despite ongoing negotiations to resume peace between communist insurgents and the Philippine government.

Dema-ala said one of the five dead NPA members was identified as a certain Domingo Ompoc, allegedly the group’s Bohol Party Committee secretary.

The military official also said that another policeman was injured from the skirmish. He added that three high-powered and two low-powered firearms were recovered from the scene after the fighting.

On Thursday, three alleged NPA fighters were killed and four soldiers were hurt in successive encounters in Escalante City, Negros Occidental.

READ: 13 alleged NPA rebels killed since January, says AFP

From Jan. 1 to Feb. 23, a total of 21 NPA members were killed in separate clashes across the country, according to authorities.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the armed forces will continue their law enforcement operations despite last year’s agreement between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Philippine government to develop a framework to restart the peace talks.

The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was established on March 29, 1969. It has been waging the longest-running Maoist insurgency in the world.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said that as of December 2023, the NPA has 1,500 fighters – far from its peak of around 25,000 in 1987.