BACOLOD City – Eleven New People’s Army (NPA) fighters were captured in Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.
The 303rd Infantry Brigade commander Brigadier General Benedict Arevalo said officers from the Moises Padilla police station caught the suspects on Monday.
According to Arevalo, witnesses positively identified the suspects as the gunmen behind the murder councilor Jolomar Hilario last Sunday, March 31.
“This group is part of the gun men involved in Hilario’s murder and the police have now filed charges against them,” Arevalo said.
Earlier on Monday, Corporal Ryan Quebedo was wounded after the 62nd Infantry Battalion troopers engaged in a gun battle against the NPA rebels in Barangay Quintin Remo.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Egberto Dacoscos, Quebedo sustained a gunshot wound on the right shoulder and already received medical treatment.
Dacoscos said the firefight lasted for about an hour around 9:20 a.m. on Monday.
At least 1,700 residents of Sitios Santos-Santos, Lomlom and Upper Mamballo in Barangay Quintin Remo fled their homes.
He added that the municipal government had dispatched relief goods to evacuees, as the soldiers were still pursuing the fleeing rebels in the Quintin Remo hinterland areas./PN
