BACOLOD City – An alleged member of the communist terrorist group (CTG) was killed following two successive encounters with government troops in Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental yesterday.
The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) identified the fatality as Richard “Rocky” Dela Peña, a resident of Sitio Inangaw ,Barangay Quintin Remo. He was a known remnant of Central Negros 1 (CN1), Komiteng Rehiyon – Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor (KR-NCBS).
Troops of the 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) also recovered from the clash site an M16 A1 rifle with a magazine loaded with 20 serviceable rounds, a bandolier with two magazines for an M16 rifle and 20 serviceable rounds, and subversive documents with high intelligence value.
According to the 3ID, soldiers of the 61IB responded in the area after receiving a tip-off from locals regarding the presence of approximately seven armed remnants of the dismantled CN1-KR-NCBS.
The first encounter transpired at about 7 a.m. After around 10 minutes of firefight, CTG members retreated northward.
At around 8:30 a.m., the blocking force of the 62IB clashed anew with about five fleeing communist terrorists in Sitio Saksak of the same barangay.
Major General Marion Sison, 3ID commander, lauded the commendable efforts of the 62IB and the collaborative support from the local populace.
“Our peace and security efforts in Negros will persist, even as the achievement of a stable internal peace and security environment for all Negrenses is at hand. This is an integral part of our sustainment strategy to prevent any attempts at recovery and resurgence by the dismantled guerrilla fronts of the CTG,” Sison said.
He added: ” We are deeply grateful to the people of Negros Island for their unwavering support to the government’s peace campaign, which clearly demonstrates that they recognize and feel the positive impacts of a stable peace and security situation in the island.”/PN
