AT LEAST one suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was dead and two army personnel were injured during an encounter in Dolores, Eastern Samar Sunday, August 16, 2020.
Reports reaching the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Eastern Visayas headquarters said that 33 soldiers from Charlie Company of the 78 Infantry Battalion led by Second Lieutenant Christopher Noynoy Tenteo clashed with more or less 20 NPA rebels around 1:30 a.m. Sunday in Sitio Kabugawan, Barangay Aroganga in Dolores town.
The firefight lasted for five minutes before the enemy withdrew towards the southeast direction, according to a report from Dolores Municipal Police Station headed by Lieutenant Marco Estillero.
The names of the fatality and the wounded soldiers have yet to be released by authorities.
Initial investigation disclosed that the government troops were conducting community security patrol at the said area when they encountered the suspected rebels.
Eastern Visayas, particularly the Samar Island, remains a hotbed of insurgency with the continued presence of the NPA. (SunStar Philippines)