BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Troops of the Philippine Army’s 94th Infantry Battalion (94IB) clashed with New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Sitio Ulot, Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental. A soldier got wounded.
The Army has yet to publicly name the soldier but said he is already out of danger.
The solder got wounded in the right elbow and was treated at the Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City.
Army Lieutenant Colonel Donald Almonte, 94IB commander, said solders responded to the area after receiving complaints from villagers that rebel were extorting money and goods from them.
A gun battle then ensued for seven minutes. An estimated 10 rebels eventually retreated.
Almonte said as many as three NPA insurgents may have been wounded in the gun fight, as evidenced by the bloodstains along the rebels’ withdrawal route.
“The 94IB will not stop banishing them from the hinterland communities of central Negros until sustainable peace and development is achieved. I’m warning their remaining members to surrender before it’s too late,” said Almonte.
In a statement, Major General Benedict Arevalo, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, said the people promptly inform the government forces about the presence of the NPA as they are fed up with the lies and deceits of the communist-terrorist group.
“In collaboration with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) government member-agencies and with the cooperation of the communities, we are positive the insurgency problem will soon come to an end, not only in this region, but also in the whole country,” Arevalo said. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
