THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has commended the troops under the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) for the death of Romeo Nanta, a top official of a communist terrorist group (CTG).
The AFP, in a statement, is expecting that the death of Nanta will mean a more secure and peaceful Negros Island.
Aside from losing its propagandist, Nanta’s death leaves a leadership vacuum that will result in the demoralization and disintegration of its members, it added.
Nanta, was killed in a 10-minute gunfight with the government troops last October 10 in the hinterlands of Barangay Carabalan in Himamaylan City.
Nanta is the spokesperson of the CTG’s Apolinario Gatmaitan Command and commanding officer of the Regional Operational Command of the New People’s Army (NPA) units operating in Negros Island and the entire Central Visayas region.
He has existing warrants of arrest for rebellion, robbery-in-band, and attempted and frustrated murder.
Nanta used the nom de guerre Juanito Magbanua.
His death, according to the military, is a big blow to the CTG since he is directly responsible for all the crimes committed by NPA members under his command.
The Philippine Army in the province said Friday, October 12, that the areas of encounters between their troops and the CTG in Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City are not yet cleared and that the affected evacuees cannot yet return to their respective houses.
Nanta died three days after Corporal Christian Drilon of San Enrique town in Iloilo, and Corporal Rex Verde of Guimaras province died in the encounter on Saturday, October 8.
Their families will receive financial assistance from the Philippine Army.
The wounded soldiers, Corporal Joey Gardose, Private First Class Rolly Rama, June Fuentes, Wilson Liander and Wilchor Recaña, and Sergeant Edgiel Ucag, will also receive financial assistance from the government, he said.
For his part, Brigadier General Inocencio Pasaporte, commanding officer of the 303rd Brigade, in a press conference after a closed-door meeting with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday, said he has tasked the ground commander to identify the areas that will be surely cleared.
This is in order for some residents to return to their respective homes already, the military official said.
"Maybe in some sitios (residents could already return) but we cannot tell yet when and what these sitios are. If that happens, we will inform the local government of Himamaylan and we will also help transport back the affected individuals to their homes," he said.
Pasaporte said the presence of some rebels may still be in the area, especially since most of them are also from Himamaylan City and residents of other barangays and neighboring areas.
Another also encounter occurred Wednesday afternoon. This is the sixth in a series of gun battles in the city since last Thursday.
“The area is not clear yet and pursuit operations are still ongoing," the army official said.
Lacson, for his part, instructed the army to make an immediate report once the area is cleared so that the affected residents could go back to their normal lives.
The governor said that no one wins a war.
“You can lose people from both sides. We're hoping that the situation will settle down so that the residents can go back to their community,” he added.
The provincial government dispatched doctors and nurses to attend to the health needs of the evacuees in Himamaylan City who are collateral damage to the conflict between the rebels and military troopers.
Meanwhile, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Merle Garcia said that the evacuees as of yesterday reached 3,795 families or 18,236 individuals.
The evacuees are placed in 18 evacuation centers.
She said the report on the number of evacuees was submitted by the city government. It was also forwarded to DSWD-Western Visayas.
The affected barangays are from Barangay 3, Cabadiangan and Carabalan, the PSWDO reported.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ernell Tumimbang said there are no reported cases of diarrhea at the evacuation centers, only fever and that they are monitoring daily for possible coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases.
For the army, the 40-minute duration of exchange fires during the first encounter was unusual and the series of encounters that happened in the area is already telling something.
There may be other groups that came to the area because of the presence of a top NPA leader in the area who died in the fifth encounter, it added.