BY RANIE AZUE and MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City – The armed encounter between soldiers and suspected rebels in Barangay Tan-awan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental forced around 150 residents to flee their homes.
Kabankalan City mayor Isidro Zayco confirmed this yesterday, a day after the shootout that claimed the lives of two soldiers – Sergeant Sandy Arevalo and Private First Class (PFC) Vicente Marcon.
Arevalo and Marcon were members of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade.
Their peers – Sergeant Niño Nabaunag, PFC Michael Besana, PFC Voltair Catamin, PFC Angelito Bariga, PFC Kenneth Cerbo, Private Ryan Las Piñas, Private Joven Taghap, and Private John Daryle Delgad – were wounded.
According to Zayco, the residents evacuated their houses out of fear after the firefight broke out at around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The soldiers were patrolling the village in relation to the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections when they chanced upon about 60 suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA), resulting to the shootout that lasted for almost an hour, the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) said.
Zayco said he already ordered the City Social Welfare and Development Office to deliver food packs to the displaced families.
The village’s covered court currently houses the families. They cannot yet go back to their homes as soldiers were still conducting clearing operations.
Zayco said additional assistance will be provided to the families.
In a statement, Nocppo condemned the NPA over its recent atrocities, including the shootout.
Nocppo director Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Castil Jr. said despite the 60-day timeframe for the possible revival of the peace talks, the NPA still perpetrated attacks.
He cited the fatal shooting in a wake in Isabela, Negros Occidental on April 9 and the burning of a bunkhouse and a backhoe owned by the National Irrigation Administration in Kabankalan City on May 8, among others.
President Rodrigo Duterte said before peace talks are revived, rebels must first agree to a ceasefire, stop extortion activities and abandon their proposal of a coalition government during the 60-day period.
Castil said the “inhumane actions” of the NPA do not only aggravate government workers but also innocent civilians.
He added that this shows that the NPAhas “no human consideration and are rightful to be branded as terrorist.”/PN
