DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said her standing order for government troops assigned in the city remains the same -- preserve and protect the communities against attacks by lawless armed groups.
The mayor's order stemmed in light of encounter between government soldiers and the New People's Army in Paquibato District on Sunday, June 11, that led to the death of two soldiers.
The mayor visited the soldiers wake Monday, June 12.
“Giingnan nako sila nga to adjust and to create operation plans to secure the communities og masecure pod sila [as well as their personal safety]. But kung naa may encounter sama aning nahitabo then wala gayud tay mabuhat (I told the soldiers to craft operation plans to secure the communities and themselves. But we can't do anything more during encounters like these)," she said as engaging in gunbattles is part of a soldier's tasks.
She also expressed her condolences to the bereaved families and vowed to assist them financially.
Colonel Ernesto Torres, 1003rd Infantry Brigade (IB) commander, told reporters Monday that the cadavers of the two fallen soldiers were flown to Luzon where the soldiers reside.
The six other wounded soldiers are already out of danger and are now recuperating in the hospital.
Torres said they received reports from the communities that at least two rebels were killed in the encounter and five were wounded but they are still verifying the information.
Torres said they will remain committed despite the incident and enforced their mandate for peace, progress and prosperity of the Davao region.
“Right now, tuloy-tuloy naman ang ating kino-conduct na operations. There are good leads that are we are following after the encounter and we will be relentless, we will continue on our operations. Hindi tayo titigil until such time that we can really prevent them from doing harm to our kababayan in this part of our country,” he said.