By CYRUS M. GARDE and RUBY P. SILUBRICO
BACOLOD City — An alleged member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed during an encounter with government troops in Sitio Madtrak, Barangay Dian-ay, Escalante City, Negros Occidental yesterday.
Twenty-five-year-old Danilo Amar, a native of Antique, succumbed to gunshot wounds in the nape and buttocks.
Lt. John Rey Espinosa of the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion, meanwhile, sustained a gunshot wound in the head.
He was taken to the Riverside Medical Center here and was already in a stable condition, said Lt. Col. Rommel Cordova, battalion commander.
Also wounded during the 4:20 a.m. clash was Amar’s companion, 24-year-old Romly Palotes of Barangay Pinupugasan, Escalante City.
Both Amar and Palotes were members of the NPA’s Northern Negros Front / Komiteng Rehiyonal–Negros, Cordova claimed.
Residents informed the Army about the presence of some 10 armed rebels in the village. Soldiers led by Espinosa led the responding troops.
According to Cordova, “they (the rebels) fired first.”
“Our troops fired back. The firefight lasted 10 minutes,” he said. “The rebels were forced to withdraw when there were no others to augment them.”
A .45-caliber pistol with five live ammunition was recovered from the encounter site.
Palotes, however, denied that they were NPA members. He said they were about to fetch a hilot for Amar’s wife, who was giving birth.
They were walking in the dark using flashlights when they heard gunshots. They ran. When he turned his back, Palotes saw Amar slumped on the ground.
Amar’s brother-in-law, a certain Francisco, also claimed the two were mere farmers.
Cordova insisted the two were rebels. “If they were not, then who fired the first shot,” the Army battalion commander asked.
The encounter happened almost 24 hours after another encounter in Barangay Roosevelt, Tapaz, Capiz.
Private First Class Lowell John Bravo, 31, of Barangay Aguisan, Himamaylan City, and member of the 61st Infantry Battalion was killed in that encounter at about 6 a.m. Thursday.
Cordova said he alerted their medical team in case wounded rebels seek medical assistance.
He called on the rebels to “lay down their arms peacefully, be given proper medication, and we assure them that their rights will be respected.”
Maj. Gen. Aurelio Baladad, 3rd Infantry Division chief, said the people desperately want armed struggle to end.
“Listen to the call of the people,” Baladad urged the rebels. “Abandon the armed struggle and let us work together to peacefully solve our problems.”
He also expressed sympathy to the family and relatives of Amar.
“It is very tragic that he has taken arms against the people of Negros when only through peace can development and social justice be achieved,” he said./PN
