Army honors slain, wounded soldiers

Thursday, February 2, 2012

COLONEL Oscar Lactao, commanding officer of the 303rd Brigade, gave a commendation on Wednesday to the two Army soldiers who were killed in an encounter with New People’s Army (NPA) rebels Tuesday morning in Barangay Andres Bonifacio, Cadiz City.

“It was an ultimate sacrifice on their part,” Lactao said during the joint 303rd Brigade and Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office press conference Wednesday.

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The two soldiers were identified as Private First Class Crispy Toledo of Pototan, Iloilo and Private First Class Nazario Benavides of Northern Samar.

Wounded in the encounter was Sergeant Alfredo Isidro who received the Wounded Personnel Medal from Lactao who visited him at the hospital where he was recovering.

BACOLOD. Colonel Oscar Lactao, 303rd Brigade commander, pins the Wounded Personnel Medal on Sergeant Alfredo Isidro who was wounded in an encounter with New People’s Army rebels Tuesday in Barangay Andres Bonifacio, Cadiz City. (Contributed photo)

Lactao said pursuit operation is going on against the fleeing rebels with the army troops and Philippine Air Force helicopters.

He said three of the NPA rebels were wounded.

Lactao stressed there was no lapses on the part of the operating troops of the 62nd IB which resulted to the killing of the two troopers.

He said about 15 NPA rebels were reportedly inside the sugarcane fields in the hacienda in the said barangay and some of the residents informed the soldiers of their presence.

Lactao added that the soldiers did not fire the first shot, as they wanted to make sure that the armed men inside the sugarcane fields are really NPA rebels, aside from the fact that the location of the rebels was about 100 meters away from a populated area.

The soldiers were observing the rules of the engagement, among which is minimal collateral damage.

He said one of the soldiers would have fired at the location of the rebels but waited until the NPA rebels fired the first shot.

Lactao said that it is a hazard of the service that soldiers like him have to face and have to take for the sake of the peace-loving citizenry.