THE twin encounters between the members of the 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) of the Philippine Army and members of a communist terrorist group (CTG) in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental over the weekend left one rebel dead.
Brigadier General Innocencio Pasaporte said the killed CTG member was identified as “Ka Raymond.”
Military reports show that typhoon-affected residents evacuating from the onslaught of Tropical Storm Paeng tipped off the soldiers about the presence of the rebels in their area in Sitio Mambog, Barangay Planas around 3:30 p.m.
After a 30-minute firefight, the rebels, believed to be under Central Negros 1, fled in different directions, Pasaporte said.
“On the same day, while conducting pursuit operations, another armed encounter followed about 9 p.m., against the fleeing rebels at Sitio Ilihan in Brgy Buenavista,” he said.
Pasaporte added that the second clash lasted for five minutes.
While scouring the second encounter site in the early morning Sunday, October 30, soldiers were able to discover the body of the slain CTG member, the military official noted.
Recovered from the encounter site were a 12 gauge shotgun, a .45 caliber pistol, a hand grenade, two handheld radios, two backpacks with personal belongings, and subversive documents.
“More casualties are possible on the NPA terrorist side based on the heavy blood stains seen at the encounter site,” Pasaporte said.
He lauded the immediate response of the soldiers in helping the local population of Barangay Planas against the extortion and atrocities of the rebels amid the onslaught of Typhoon Paeng.
In a statement, the Leonardo Panaligan Command of the New People's Army Central Negros Guerrilla Front (LPC-NPA) said the “relentless attacks on Guihulngan communities” by around 300 to 400 government troops particularly in the mountain barangays of Basak, Bulado, Binobohan, Tacpao, and Humay-humay.
Ka JB Regalado, the rebels’ spokesperson lambasted the “fascist military troops” for continuing to intimidate and attack farmers despite the onslaught of severe tropical storm Paeng.
He called on the people of Guihulngan to “strongly unite in driving away the fascist military from the countryside,” while commanding all NPA units in Central Negros to launch tactical offensives to give justice to victims of military atrocities.
They further said that five soldiers were killed during the encounter but the military dismissed it as false.