Surviving kin could not hold back their tears as the remains of the farmer-turned-rebel were laid to rest in Sitio Paloypoy, Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, on Monday, December 8.
Ruben Tingal, in his early 30s, reportedly went underground after his older brother, Crispin Tingal Jr., was killed in an armed encounter as a suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) in May 2023, their mother, Eda Tingal, said.
After the funeral mass, his niece, Jocelyn Abello, recalled that she had recently communicated with her uncle through Messenger.
She said her uncle had promised to return home this December and had asked how his mother was doing, hoping “she has forgiven me for what I did previously.”
“Instead of coming back alive, he came back to us dead,” Abello said.
She described him as loving toward his family and someone who “holds a special place in our hearts.”
Meanwhile, his sister, Helen Tingal-De Leon, said her brother chose a harsh path in pursuit of what he believed was justice for their family.
“Ruben might have chosen the difficult path, but we understand and respect his choices,” she said.
Ruben was killed in an armed encounter with soldiers of the Army’s 94th Infantry Battalion on December 2, 2025. The military said Tingal served as an NPA squad leader operating in Central Negros.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.