A high ranking officer of the communist New People's Army was killed in a gunbattle between NPA rebels and government troops in Mamburao town early Saturday morning, a military official said.
 
1LT Celeste Frank Sayson,  Public Information Officer of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, identified the slain rebel official as a certain Ka Asero, an alleged platoon leader of Platoon 2 of the Island Committee - Mindoro.
 
Sayson said the Philippine Army received information from concerned civilians in the area that the insurgents were campaigning for new recruits in the area.
 
He said elements of 80th Infantry Battalion under Lt. Col. Alden Juan Magasca immediately swooped down at Sitio Tugas, Barangay Tangkalan and chanced upon at least ten rebels around 5:30 a.m. The two sides fired at each other, killing Ka Asero on the spot while injuring a civilian.

Soldiers later recovered an M-16 Armalite Rifle, one homemade shotgun, two laptops, six cell phones and one Icom two-way radio from Asero.
 
A hot pursuit operation is currently underway to track the fleeing rebels.