Another UP student leader, Kabataan Partylist member falls in armed encounter in Negros

A former student leader from and member of was among five individuals killed in an armed encounter between government troops and alleged members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Cauayan, Negros Occidental on May 16.

The fatality was identified by the Philippine Army as Francis Vince Y. Dingding, a University of the Philippines - Cebu Computer Science alumnus who allegedly served as a political instructor of the Southeast Front-D of the Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros from 2022 to 2024. Tug-ani, the official student publication of UP Cebu, also confirmed Dingding’s death in a social media post published following reports of the encounter.

The encounter took place in the hinterland areas of Barangays Abaca and Poblacion during what the Army described as focused military operations conducted by troops of the 15th Infantry Battalion under the 302nd Infantry Brigade against remnants of the New People’s Army operating in southern Negros.

Also killed in the encounter were Jobert Casipong alias “John,” Gilbert Tingson alias “Ryan,” Rolando Dantes Jr. alias “Mistah,” and Alex Chavez Languita alias “Axel,” all identified by the military as members of various NPA units in Negros Occidental.

Campus national democratic activist

Before his reported involvement in the underground movement, Dingding was active in campus politics and student activism, particularly in the national democratic movement in Cebu. He served in the UP Cebu University Student Council as second-year representative in 2013, councilor in 2014, and vice chairperson in 2015. He was also associated with Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante (NKE) and Kabataan Partylist Cebu.

Within the university community, Dingding participated in campaigns opposing tuition schemes, the K-12 program, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), and other national issues.

Distress

In a handwritten letter dated May 18 and signed by both parents, Romulo and Rica Dingding formally appealed that all matters relating to their son’s death be coursed through their barangay captain in order to spare the family from further distress.

In the same letter, the family disclosed that Vince Dingding’s mother is currently battling colon cancer and had been strictly advised to avoid stress as part of her healing and recovery process.

“P.S. We decided that we will no longer claim his remains in Negros Occ.,” the handwritten note stated.

DOUBLE HEARTBREAK. Open letter from the family of slain NPA fighter Francis Vince Y. Dingding.

His death comes amid continuing counterinsurgency operations in Negros Island, one of the country’s long-standing conflict areas where armed encounters between government troops and communist guerrillas continue despite the weakened state of the insurgency nationwide.

The incident also heightened discussions online regarding the continuing participation of some youth and student activists in the armed struggle, particularly in regions with deep-rooted socioeconomic issues such as Negros Occidental, where low farm wages, landlessness, and labor disputes have historically fueled unrest.

“Weakened, isolated, and exhausted remnants”

The Cauayan encounter came less than a month after the fatal April 19 clashes in Toboso, Negros Occidental, some 100 kilometers away from the latest encounter site in southern Negros.

Former regional Communist cadre Noel Legaspi said the recent incidents reflect what he described as a continuing pattern involving the “weakened, isolated, and exhausted remnants” of the NPA in Negros.

Speaking on the earlier Toboso clashes, Legaspi said several operational and terrain-related factors contributed to what he considered one of the most significant battlefield losses suffered by the NPA in recent years. According to him, fleeing rebels reportedly attempted to move through a muddy fishpond during high tide without sufficient cover or concealment, while pursuing government troops were positioned on elevated terrain with vegetation advantage, allowing them to fire down on the withdrawing fighters.

In a separate interview with Negros-based media outlet DNX News, Catholic priest Jude Garciniego said repeated killings of civilians in previous years had also contributed to communities gradually losing trust in the rebels and reporting their movements to authorities. Garciniego claimed that at least 48 civilian deaths linked to the conflict had eroded local support for the insurgency.

This is a developing story.