CAGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno said he is looking into putting a military detachment in Barangay Pigsag-an following an encounter last week between government troops and New People's Army (NPA) rebels.
Moreno said the Pigsag-an village chair has personally visited him to request for a military detachment in their barangay.
"We'll look into that. Of course, security is very important. But there also considerations, are we going to put a detachment or a mobile force? So we will look into it," he said.
Brigadier General Edgardo De Leon, commander of Army's 403rd Brigade, said they could place a detachment in an area if the barangay requests for it.
But De Leon said Pigsag-an has always been peaceful, and clarified that the encounter happened in an uninhabited, non-populated forested area, far from the village proper.
De Leon also said there is no NPA camp in Pigsag-an.
"Walang kampo ang NPA dun. Mga dayo, after ng encounter sa Lanao areas. Sumbong ng mga surrenderees na doon sila usually dumadaan at nagtatago kapag may military operation sa Lanao. Kaya nasabat ng tropa," he said.
On Tuesday, July 30, troops from the 65th Infantry Battalion of the 9th Infantry Division responded to reports from Pigsag-an residents that armed men were extorting money and other illegal activities in the area.
During a focused military operation at 2 p.m., the soldiers confronted 20 NPA rebels and this led to the discovery of an NPA hideout in an uninhabited area. (PJ Orias)