BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Some residents of Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental who fled their homes more than a week ago due to fighting between government forces and communist insurgents have been allowed to return.
Himamaylan City mayor Raymund Tongson made the announcement in his official social media page, stating that the decision was made following a meeting between the city government’s Incident Management Team and the Philippine Army.
“Evacuees at the Don Florencio Villafranca National High School and Manuel Yulo Elementary School would be allowed to return home,” Tongson said.
Evacuees at the Carabalan Elementary School and Carabalan Covered Court were also allowed to go home.
However, evacuees from the village’s sitios Campayas, Sig-ang and Medel were told to remain in the evacuation centers and wait for further information. Their areas were still being “cleared” by government forces.
Tongson also told the city’s residents to continue praying to achieve long-term peace in their community.
“I thank all those who helped and supported us in these most trying times,” he said.
The city government put up a total of 13 evacuation centers, and thousands of the affected residents were provided with assistance.
Earlier, Brigadier General Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (303IBde), said clearing operations were still ongoing in all sitios in Barangay Carabalan.
Pasaporte said on Thursday, Oct. 13, that they have identified some sitios that were already cleared from the threat of the New People’s Army (NPA), but they could not provide the list yet.
Barangay Carabalan residents fled their homes on Oct. 6 after the Army’s 94th Infantry Battalion (94IB) stumbled into an alleged NPA harboring area.
The fighting resulted in the death of one of the NPA’s top leaders in Negros, Romeo Nanta alias “Ka Juanito Magbanua”.
Two soldiers from the 94IB also perished, while six others were wounded in the running gun battles./PN
