9 alleged rebels killed, firearms seized in Moises Padilla, Guihulngan encounters

FIVE alleged members of the New People's Army (NPA) were killed in a series of encounters with the troopers of the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army in Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, May 20, 2023.

The following day, May 21, another encounter ensued in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental where four suspected rebels were neutralized in a clash with the state soldiers.

The 62nd IB reported that it launched combat operations in Moises Padilla after receiving information from civilians of the alleged planned NPA atrocities in Moises Padilla and nearby La Castellana town.

The first encounter with the 14 rebels at Sitio Napiluan that occurred at 5:05 a.m. lasted for 10 minutes, which prompted the NPA fighters to break into smaller groups and withdraw towards the southwest direction.

The second clash took place 35 minutes later after six rebels engaged another platoon of soldiers at Sitio Oway-Oway. The gunfight also lasted for 10 minutes.

Following the rebels' withdrawal, another five-minute firefight took place when the soldiers’ blocking team spotted five fleeing rebels in the same sitio, the Army said.

The series of encounters resulted in the death of five alleged rebels while no casualties were reported on the government's side.

As of this writing, the slain suspected rebels remain unidentified.

Recovered from the encounter sites were one M-16 rifle, two .38 caliber pistols, a KG9 machine pistol with magazine assembly, one Uzi machine pistol with magazine assembly, two homemade 12-gauge shotguns, four rifle grenade ammunition, four .38 caliber live ammunition, one 12-gauge ammunition, two .45 caliber magazines, two Baofeng radios, a keypad cellphone, 15 backpacks, one bandolier, one NPA flag, various medical paraphernalia, food supplies, war materiel, and personal belongings, the Army said.

The state troopers with the personnel of the Moises Padilla police station and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) were tasked to retrieve the five cadavers from the encounter sites.

"This is a clear manifestation that the people of Moises Padilla are no longer active in giving support to the human rights violators and opportunist NPA terrorists," a statement from the 62nd IB said.

Residents flee

Meanwhile, 258 families in Barangay Quintin Remo fled their homes following the clash between the government soldiers and rebels.

A total of 151 families composed of 144 individuals are currently staying at the barangay hall

Another 107 families are being sheltered at the covered court in Barangay Sebucawan in neighboring Isabela town.

Village chief Amy Locsin said 68 families came from sitios Bonbon and Cuyawyaw of Barangay Sebucawan while 39 families came from their barangay.

Another evacuation site has also been opened in Sitio Tibobo but no details are available as of press time.

Relief operations were immediately launched by the municipal government with the distribution operations were led by Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo.

Another clash

Eight rebels engaged the government troopers in a 20-minute firefight in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Sunday, May 21.

It is believed that the rebels were part of the unit that encountered the soldiers in Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla on Saturday.

The fatalities are still unidentified as of writing.

In a related development, following the series of encounters between government forces and the rebels, the 62nd IB in collaboration with the Moises Padilla Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (MPTF-Elcac), Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Moises Padilla Municipal Police Station conducted localized peace engagement with the residents of Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla on May 20.