An alleged provincial leader of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) in Iloilo was killed after he was ambushed by suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) Friday afternoon.

Joven Tababa, 45, who allegedly belonged to the RPA-ABB’s Nilo de la Cruz faction, succumbed to 11 gunshot injuries from an M16 armalite rifle and a caliber .45 pistol.

Police accounts said Tababa had just fetched his 7-year old daughter from school and was driving a motorcycle on their way to Brgy. Bagacay, Tigbauan, Iloilo, when three armed men tried to flag them down.

The victim reportedly maneuvered his motorcycle and made a U-turn until he and his daughter fell down on the pavement.

Tababa reportedly ran and left his daughter behind.

But 25 meters from where he started sprinting, he reportedly tumbled from multiple gunshot injuries from his pursuing assailants.

The gunmen, according to police reports, immediately left the area and were presumed to have carted Tababa’s caliber .45 pistol.

They left the victim’s daughter physically unharmed though.

According to Senior Inspector Janelo Gepana, Tigbauan police chief, the ongoing conflict between the NPAs and the breakaway RPA-ABB could be one of the motives of the incident.

But investigators also considered a land conflict in Tigbauan village where Tababa stood as witness. 

But another source pointed that the incident is election-related.

The source, who requested anonymity, said Tababa is allegedly connected with a political kingpin in the first district of Iloilo.

“We believed that the NPAs are supporting another candidate. If Tababa’s benefactor will win, the NPA group will be starved of support from their own candidate,” the source added.

It can be noted that the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA-ABB) was formed after a series of splits within the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Sometime in 1998, the Metro Manila-based ABB led by Cruz merged with Arturo Tabara’s political party, RPM-P, and its armed wing, the RPA, which were mainly based in the Visayas.

De la Cruz was considered the group’s chairman while Stephen Paduano was the national commander.

But during the merge, de la Cruz and Tabara had some differences over the group’s party-list nomination and alleged mishandling of funds.

In December 6, 2000, Paduano and Tabara’s group opted to abandon the armed struggle.

Then in a special plenum in April 2007, de la Cruz expelled Paduano and Veronica, wife of slain Arturo Tabara, from the RPA-ABB.

Both factions insisted that they are the legitimate RPA-ABB.*