THE New People's Army (NPA) is covering up for the death of Rebelyn Pitao when they attacked several suspected personalities behind the killing, a military official said Tuesday.

Major Randolph Cabangbang, Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman, said that in the interest of justice, "everybody wants to know the perpetrators of the abduction and murder of Rebelyn."

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"And the NPAs have been liquidating those they suspect as having knowledge in the death of Parago's daughter. When there are no more suspects to kill, we will still be facing a blank wall. If the NPA think that they are exacting justice, they're wrong. What they are doing is more of a cover-up," Cabangbang said.

The Parago being referred to by Cabangbang is Rebelyn’s father, Leoncio Pitao, who is known to his group as “Ka Parago”.

The military strongly condemned the killing of Corporal Orly Pedregoza, saying the rebel attack perpetrated while there was a religious celebration showed the rebel group's "total disregard for the safety of the civilians and contempt to religious sensitivity."

"We condemn this act in the strongest term possible and pray that the wheel of justice will grind in the interest of truth and of the people. We commiserate with the families of the victims as we appeal for sobriety in the pursuit of legal remedies for the perpetrators to face justice and serve their sentence in the most humane way possible," said
Army's 10th Infantry Division chief Reynaldo Mapagu.

The communist rebels, meanwhile, said Pedregoza "was armed, dangerous and gave battle to the NPA arresting team that resulted to his death."

The rebels claimed to have recovered from the Army soldier's possession three hand grenades, Military Intelligence Battalion intelligence documents, a .357 pistol, and a counterfeit P1,000 bill.