BACOLOD City – Successive encounters between government troops and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Barangay Oringao, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental forced 718 individuals to evacuate.
On Facebook, Mayor Benjie Miranda disclosed that as of 1:30 p.m. “we have 258 families, or 718 individuals, nga ara sa Barangay Oringao covered court.”
The City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) office was assisting them.
Two platoons of the Philippine Army’s 94th Infantry Battalion, together with the Regional Mobile Force 6 and the 2nd Negros Occidental Provincial Mobile Force Company, encountered around 15 rebels while conducting a security patrol in the barangay to validate reports of extortion and harassment.
The first encounter happened at around 5:06 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, in Purok Mugni, Barangay Oringao. The firefight lasted for 20 minutes.
This prompted the government troops to conduct pursuit operations that resulted in a second encounter in the same barangay around 8 a.m. yesterday, Feb. 5.
Three unidentified dead bodies were found at the clash site. Also recovered was an M14 rifle with ammunition, a .45 pistol with ammunition, and a .38 pistol with ammunition./PN
