The National Democratic Front (NDF) confirmed the deaths of two students from Metro Manila following a clash between government troops and the New People’s Army in Barangay Cabacao, Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro on 1 January.

In a statement released Sunday, NDF-Mindoro spokesperson Ma. Patricia Andal said that aside from the two students, three Mangyan Iraya children were also killed, while their mother was injured during the bombing.

Andal said the body of the second student, who was earlier reported missing during the withdrawal, and the three children were discovered by villagers two days after the bombing.

She said the two students were part of a group from Metro Manila who went to Mindoro to conduct research, interviews, and integration activities with indigenous peoples and farmers, as well as with an NPA unit during the New Year period.

According to Andal, the group arrived in Abra de Ilog before the New Year, assisted by indigenous residents and farmers, and were received by the NPA unit. She did not disclose the name of the second student confirmed dead, nor the identities of the children and their injured mother.

Earlier, the 203rd Infantry Brigade said it recovered at the encounter site bank cards belonging to Jerlyn Rose Doydora, an identification card of 20-year-old Stephanie Jhoy Borinaga, medical and hygiene kits, personal items, food, and subversive documents.

Andal said Doydora, a secondary education student of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, died after suffering an attack related to her illness. She was identified as a deputy senior officer of the general secretariat of the Kabataan PartyList.

Kabataan PartyList confirmed that Doydora was one of its members. The group expressed condolences to her family and called for an independent fact-finding mission by humanitarian groups to investigate the incident.

Meanwhile, NDF-Mindoro reiterated its call for the opening of a humanitarian corridor to allow families to retrieve the bodies of the slain students and enable humanitarian groups to extend assistance to the affected community.

Andal said Doydora’s body remains in the custody of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and is being kept away from the investigation being conducted by a humanitarian mission formed by human rights group Karapatan-Southern Tagalog since 3 January.