BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
ILOILO City — “Please spare the civilians from atrocities and harassment,” appealed the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) 301st Infantry Brigade (IB) to the New People’s Army (NPA) in relation to their recent encounter in Barangay Mayang, Tubungan, Iloilo.
Brigadier General Arnold Quiapo, commanding general of the 301IB, recalled that the rebels first attacked the medical team composed of 20 nurses and doctors from Manila and Iloilo who were conducting a medical mission in the municipality of Tubungan.
The vehicle was hit with bullets but, luckily, the members of the medical team were not hit.
“Our medical team was volunteering free service to the less fortunate people who have nothing to do with our differences,” Quiapo said. “It was clear that the NPA violated the comprehensive agreement on human rights and international law when they attacked the noncombatant troops.”
The members of the team were aboard a white pick-up escorted by soldiers from the 82nd Infantry Battalion when the rebels fired at them.
“If it is true that rebels are pro-community, why did they fire at our civilian medical team,” Quiapo asked.
After the 20-minute encounter, the dead body of 19-year-old Gerardo Larbo was seen in the area where the rebels had hidden.
Beside him was a 12- gauge shotgun with live ammunition.
However, the family and relatives of Larbo insisted that he was not a rebel.
“The rebels are already desperate. The Army has been proactive in delivering basic and health services in the far flung areas,” said Quiapo.
On the other hand, 1Lt. Kenneth Cortel, officer-in-charge of the 1st Forward Support Medical Platoon, narrated that when the rebels shot the vehicle of the nurses and doctors, they immediately covered them.
“We have no choice but fire back to protect and secure the traumatized nurses and doctors,” Cortel said.
Quiapo assured the public that despite the harassment of the rebels, the soldiers would continue to serve the people and continue to search for peace in the country./PN
