AN ARMY trooper and two suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were killed as government forces hunted down the rebels at the hinterlands of San Isidro, Northern Samar Saturday, August 21, 2021.

Operating troops from the 43rd Infantry Battalion (IB) encountered about 20 rebels that resulted in a 15-minute gunfight at the forested area of Barangay Palanit in San Isidro town.

Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Degay, acting commander officer of 43rd IB, identified the slain soldier as Corporal Jason Avestruz.

The Army has yet to identify the names of the two dead rebels.

The military also recovered one M16A1 rifle and one bandoleer with five magazines for M14 loaded with ammunition, one M14 rifle and one bandoleer with five magazines for M16 loaded with ammunition, other three firearms, five backpacks with personal belongings, and subversive documents.

Meanwhile, Degay urged the rebels to “surrender and avail the program of the government.”

Samar Island, which is still beset with poverty, remains a hotbed of insurgency with the continued presence of the NPA. (SunStar Philippines)