BACOLOD City – Soldiers of the Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (79IB) claimed thwarting a planned attack by communist rebels targeting a three-day peace summit in Barangay Old Poblacion, Escalante City, Negros Occidental.
Lieutenant Colonel Emelito Thaddeus Logan, 79IB commander, said his troops have captured two suspected members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) around 8:13 a.m. on Tuesday.
Logan identified them as Jomar Agustin and Revely Tayab, who both yielded 45-caliber pistols with live bullets.
Police investigations revealed that Agustin is a member of Special Partisan Unit of the NPA’s Northern Negros Front. He is facing a murder case for killing a police officer and another person in front of Escalante City Shopping Center in 2013.
“We successfully prevented another terror attack of the CPP-NPA terrorists targeting a peace summit in northern Negros,” Logan said.
He commended the local residents for giving accurate information on the movement and whereabouts of the communist rebels.
“We launched combat operations after receiving reports on the presence of more or less seven fully-armed terrorists planning to sabotage a peace summit in the city,” Logan added.
The combat operations resulted to a 10-minute firefight, after which the enemies withdrew towards west direction.
“This is a clear indication that the populace are fed up with the ruthlessness of the CPP-NPA, who destroyed their peaceful communities. Sila na mismo ang nag-rereport sa atin dahil ayaw nila sa mga teroristang ito. Gusto na nilang bumalik sa payapa at malayang pamumuhay,” Logan stressed.
None from the government side was hurt during the gunfight. Recoveries from the encounter site include a hammock, a pouch of bandoleer, a cellphone and kitchen paraphernalia.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines./PN
