A suspected member of the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbo ng Bayan, a breakaway communist rebel faction, was captured yesterday by soldiers after an encounter in Sitio Calaba, Brgy. Camansi, Kabankalan City.

The brief encounter between soldiers of the 61st Infantry Battalion and five suspected armed RHB members led to the capture of a suspected rebel whose identity is being withheld by the military. A .30 caliber US carbine rifle with a magazine containing ammunition was also recovered, Capt. Renante Besa, spokesman of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, said.

Besa said the brief firefight took place after 61st IB soldiers responded to the shooting of Generoso Caballero at about 5 a.m. yesterday in Sitio Katilingban, Brgy. Orong, Kabankalan City, which allegedly perpetrated by 10 RHB guerillas.

No casualty was reported on the government side during the brief encounter in Brgy. Camansi, Kabankalan City, almost six hours after Caballero was assassinated, Besa added.

Lt. Col. Norman Flores, 61st IB commander, said last night that the RHB guerillas encountered by his troops may also behind the assassination of Caballero.

Flores said Caballero is now undergoing debriefing at the 61st IB headquarters.

Military records show the RHB is a breakaway rebel faction which also severed its ties with the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army. On Feb. 28, CAFGU member Sonny Villamor was also shot dead allegedly by three assassins of the New People's Army in Brgy. Mandapaton, La Libertad, Oriental Negros.*GPB

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