TWO suspected members of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) were wounded following a gun battle with the members of the 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) at the hinterlands of Barangay Trinidad in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental Tuesday, August 16, 2022.
Major Alenel Valles, Civil Military Officer of the 62nd IB based in Isabela town, Negros Occidental, said the government troops encountered about 10 CTG members bringing with them their wounded companions.
Valles said the troops were validating reports of the presence of armed individuals intimidating and extorting from the residents Sitio Cambairan and other neighboring areas when the encounter happened.
He said at least 10 CTGs who are believed to be under the Central Negros 1 Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor exchanged gunfight with the soldiers.
Valles added that the firefight lasted for at least 10 minutes prompting the rebels to retreat towards the southern portion of the encounter site bringing with them their wounded colleagues.
Military records showed that the rebels encountered by the soldiers are the same individuals doing atrocities in the towns of Isabela and Moises Padilla in Negros Occidental and the cities of Guihulngan and Canlaon in Negros Oriental.
As of this writing, the pursuit operation against the fleeing rebels is still ongoing in the nearby hinterland areas of Moises Padilla.
Several personal belongings of the rebels were recovered by the military from the encounter site.