By Roy Ramos

ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines

The Philippines military claims to have killed a high ranking leader of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

A local media report quoted Capt. Danny Boy Tapang, civil military operations chief of the Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion, as saying Saturday that Noel Gulmatico, commanding officer of the NPA's Guerrilla Front 53 in North Cotabato, was killed with a colleague during a clash Friday.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that two high-powered rifles had been recovered from the scene, and the bodies had been turned over to civilian authorities.

The clash came on the same day President Rodrigo Duterte called on communist rebels to help him in his war against drug traffickers, saying they should hold their own guerrilla court hearings and then carry out executions.

The newly-seated president is seeking to declare a ceasefire with the communist insurgency after formal peace talks resume.

Since his landslide victory in the May 9 election, Duterte has made overtures toward the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), whose armed wing has been waging a decades-long guerrilla war against the government.

Duterte has said that he will release all political prisoners if party leaders return from exile and sit down for negotiations. He also offered the CPP posts in his new government to smooth the way.

Since March 1969, the NPA has been waging one of Asia's longest running insurgencies, which -- according to the military -- has claimed more than 3,000 lives over the past eight years.

The military estimates that the number of NPA members has dropped from a peak of 26,000 in the 1980s to less than 4,000.