With raised fists, the Apolinario Gatmaitan Command-NPA along with the revolutionary forces across the Negros island offer its highest salute to the five (5) valiant red fighters of Armando Sumayang Jr-NPA, Southwest Negros Guerrilla front, who sacrificed their lives in the cause of liberating the Negrosanon masses from severe exploitation and oppression. They were martyred during the 3rd encounter in Barangay Abaca, Cauayan, Negros Occidental, around 5:00 in the afternoon last May 16, 2026.
Vince Francis Yncierto Dingding (Ka Poy/Ka Moymoy/Ka Cat)
Vince Francis “Ka Poy/Moymoy” Dingding, 30, was born in Cebu City to a lower petty-bourgeois family. He served as the Secretary of the Southwest Negros Guerrilla Front.
A graduate of the University of the Philippines Cebu with a degree in BS Computer Science, Ka Moymoy was already deeply socially conscious during his college years. He consistently kept his pulse on the struggles of the marginalized, participating in basic masses integration across various communities in Cebu. He fully understood that university life was merely a microcosm of a deeply fractured society.
Disillusioned by the meager wages of the corporate tech sector, Ka Moymoy walked away from his job at a foreign company. In 2018, he initially chose the path of a Tour of Duty (TOD) before committing as a full-time Red fighter two months later. Instead of using his problem-solving mindset to climb the corporate tech ladder, he chose to program something far more impactful—systemic social change.
Ka Moymoy forged deep, unbreakable bonds with the masses, particularly the peasantry and the youth. In the communities where he lived with, he spent his days teaching both children and agricultural workers how to read and write, raising local literacy rates. He was also fiercely hands-on in resolving feudal disputes wherever his deployment took him.
To his comrades, his greatest strength lay in his brilliant political acumen; he had a knack for selecting specific revolutionary texts that directly addressed the concrete ideological and practical issues the unit or individuals were facing. He was also a talented poet who contributed numerous creative works to the cultural movement. Naturally playful, Ka Moymoy possessed a rare emotional intelligence, knowing exactly when to crack a joke and when to command absolute seriousness.
His leadership rose rapidly. In 2018, he served as a political guide. By 2019, after displaying exemplary ideological and political work, he was elevated as member of the Front Committee (Komite sa Larangan) of the unit he was part of. He later served as part of the core leadership of the Regional Sentro de Grabidad (RSDG) until the third quarter of 2022. He was then deployed as Deputy Secretary of the Southeast Negros Guerrilla Front, and by 2025, became the Secretary of the South Central Negros Guerrilla Front. His final deployment was as the Secretary of the Southwest Negros Guerrilla Front.
Rolando Dantes Jr. (Ka Anyo)
Rolando “Ka Anyo” Dantes Jr., 39, was the Commanding Officer of the NPA-Armando Sumayang Jr Command. Born to a peasant family and the eldest among his siblings, he possessed a deep sense of filial duty. Before joining the revolution, he was his family’s primary provider, working across different places to buy back the land his parents were forced to pawn due to poverty.
With a natural talent for music and the arts, Ka Anyo initially joined a local cultural group. He soon realized that art must not exist for art’s sake; it must expose the harsh realities of the oppressed. This political awakening led him to the ranks of the Kabataang Makabayan (KM), where he used song and dance to arouse, organize, and mobilize the youth. However, he soon realized that ending systemic oppression required armed struggle, as the ruling class ruthlessly defends the status quo with its own military machinery.
Ka Anyo eventually joined the New People’s Army. To his comrades and the masses, he was a natural joker who brought warmth to the camp. Yet, the moment duty called, a switch flipped—the joker vanished, replaced by a leader of impeccable military bearing.
Throughout nearly two decades of unwavering service, he rose from leading a small team to commanding a platoon of brave Red fighters. He was deeply cherished not only by his comrades but also by the masses of Southwest Negros, because he was a commander who truly listened to, and fought for, the farmers and workers.
Jobert Casipong (Ka Robi)
Jobert “Ka Robi” Casipong was only 23 years old when he was martyred. For Ka Robi, the choice to take up arms was never an abstract academic debate; it was born from the stark reality of systemic state neglect that had plunged his family into severe poverty and hunger.
He joined the NPA in the first quarter of 2021, taking on the meticulous, life-saving role of squad medical officer, while occasionally serving as a team leader. However, the grueling physical and psychological toll of a protracted people’s war weighed heavily on him, leading to his difficult decision to return to civilian life in 2023.
Yet, for former revolutionary cadres, “peace” under a fascist regime is a fragile illusion. The reactionary state’s brutal counter-insurgency campaign never permits a clean break. Throughout 2023 and into 2024, Ka Robi became the target of relentless harassment by military troops and state intelligence agents. He received multiple death threats for refusing to become a traitor. Ka Robi chose dignity and resistance. The multiple death threats he received compelled him to return to his unit in the mountains.
Gilbert Tingson (Ka Kolintong/Ka Downy)
Gilbert Tingson, known affectionately to the masses and comrades of Negros as “Ka Kolintong” and “Ka Downy,” was a middle-aged rich peasant who could have easily chosen a quiet, stable life. However, witnessing the severe systemic inequality and oppression meted out against the marginalized, he initially chose to serve as a local Yunit Militia in their area. During his service, he was captured by fascist state forces. Upon his release, rather than being deterred, he fully committed himself as a full-time member of the NPA.
In his early years in the movement, he served as a Finance and Logistics Officer (FLO). Over time, his leadership and technical capabilities grew, leading him to command a team of Red fighters and join a highly specialized explosives and demolition unit. Despite mastering a craft defined by fire and blast waves, Ka Kolintong was naturally reserved. He was not one to dominate a room or speak just to fill the silence, but when he did speak, his insights were immensely valuable.
He remained deeply integrated with the masses, finding joy in manual agricultural labor alongside the farmers. In his free time, he would hunt (mangayam) for food, always sharing his catch equally with his comrades and the community.
Alex Languita (Ka Kaya)
Alex Languita was a 25-year old Red fighter coming from Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental. He was a team leader of ASJC-NPA.
Ka Kaya’s life was permanently altered by the blood spilled in March 2019. His father was one of the victims of the state’s brutal Synchronized Enhanced Managing of Police Operations (SEMPO), notoriously known in the region as Operation “Sauron”—which massacred the farmers now collectively remembered as the Negros 14. Realizing that justice was impossible under the current semi-colonial and semi-feudal system, Ka Kaya chose the arduous but just path of armed struggle to give justice to his father and defend his class.
Among his ranks, Ka Kaya stood out as part of a sharp expressive younger generation of cadres. He was notably vocal, navigating the movement with an open, questioning mind.
So as there is life, there must be death. That is the inescapable truth of our existence. But death is not a universal equalizer. Its true weight is not measured in years lived, but in the depth of one’s service to the people. As such, the death of the Cauayan 5 is heavier than Mt. Kanlaon, unlike that of the fascist soldiers whose death is lighter than a feather for protecting the interests of the ruling class.
Predictably, the fascist Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), specifically the 15th Infantry Battalion, paraded the bodies of our fallen comrades like trophies to broadcast a hollow success.
In reality, body counts do not equate to victory. What the reactionary state fails to grasp is that the life of the revolution does not depend on a few individual leaders; it thrives through the thousands of Red fighters and revolutionary forces who persist amid worsening socio-economic and political crises to achieve the national democratic revolution with a socialist perspective.
The ultimate victory of our people’s war relies on the collective mass of Red fighters who embody the same revolutionary enthusiasm and death-defying spirit as our martyrs. We will carry our revolutionary work through to the absolute end.
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