THE military made an assurance on Friday that the wounded pregnant female member of the New People’s Army (NPA) has been given all the medical attention she needs during her stay at an Army medical facility in Cagayan de Oro City.
Susan Guaynon, 21, was three-month pregnant when the group of insurgents she was with figured in a firefight with soldiers from the 8th Infantry Battalion (8IB) in Sitio Ulayanon, Barangay Kalabugao in Impasugong, Bukidnon, on Saturday, April 14.
First Lieutenant Tere Ingente, the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) spokesperson, said the doctors at the Camp Evangelista Station Hospital (CESH) in Barangay Patag, Cagayan de Oro City, where Guaynon is recuperating, had successfully removed the slug that stuck to her forehead on Thursday.
“She is out of danger,” Ingente said, adding that Guaynon was properly attended to while recovering. Her mother was also able to visit her at the CESH.
Ingente said Guaynon is due for an ultrasound test sometime this week.
“We have to make sure that the baby she is carrying is okay,” Ingente said.
She said Guaynon will only be given vitamins after the result of her ultrasound. “The giving of vitamins will be based on her and her baby’s needs.”
Ingente added when the NPA insurgent arrived at the CESH on Saturday, she was immediately given milk for pregnant women. She was also subjected to a complete medical checkup at said hospital.
In her affidavit, Guaynon has admitted to being a member of the NPA, although the military has yet to release the affidavit to the media as Friday.
“Our focus now is on her treatment,” Ingente said, adding that per the doctor’s advice, and because of the trauma she went through, the military has not interviewed her yet.
“She will have to undergo psychosocial therapy first to process her traumatic experience,” Ingente said.
According to the information the 4ID posted on social media, Guaynon belonged to the Headquarters Force NEO Compaq of North Central Mindanao Regional Committee, the unit tasked with major tactical offensives of the NPA in the provinces of Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental.
The 4ID said the group was responsible for the killing of Impasugong mayor Mario Okinlay on July 2, 2014 in Barangay Bontongon of said town.
The same NPA unit also carried out the killing of three unarmed 8IB soldiers in Sito Kaleb, Barangay Kibalabag, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, on February 1, 2017, which the military said was the reason that prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to order the cancellation of the government’s unilateral ceasefire.
The military said Guaynon’s comrades abandoned her during a 20-minute encounter. Soldiers recovered various firearms and backpacks at the scene of the fighting.
Brigadier General Eric Vinoya, commander of the 403rd Infantry Brigade said it was “shameful” that the Communist rebels abandoned one of their own, a wounded and pregnant fighter, after the clash with the 8IB troops.
“They (NPA) should be the one looking after her especially that she is pregnant and needs monthly check-up,” Vinoya said in a statement.
In another interview, Guaynon’s father, Elpidio, 40, said he was unaware that her daughter has joined the revolutionary movement as the last time he saw her was in December last year.
He said Guaynon has asked her parents to allow her to work as household help after she graduated from high school in 2015.
The Guaynons used to live in San Luis, Agusan del Sur before they moved to Barangay Can-ayan in Malaybalay, where the elder Guaynon was a native.
“I have not yet seen her since we last saw each other last year. I want to know how she’s doing,” the elder Guaynon said in vernacular.