BACOLOD City – Another New People’s Army rebel was killed in a clash with troops of the Philippine Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion (15IB) in Cauayan, Negros Occidental on Sunday afternoon.
The fatality was yet to be identified as of Monday afternoon. The rebel was the tenth to have died during the series of encounters in Negros Island over the weekend.
Second Lieutenant Weann Sandag, the civil-military operations officer of the 15IB, said they received reports on the presence of armed men in Sitio Bajay, Barangay Caliling, Cauayan where government troops have been conducting a mobile community support and sustainment program.
The five-minute firefight at around 3 p.m. resulted in the death of the NPA fighter, whose body was brought to the Cauayan District Hospital.
A .45 pistol, an anti-personnel mine with a detonating device and blasting cap, two magazines, several rounds of ammunition, a backpack, and subversive documents were recovered.
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Cuarteros, commanding officer of the 15IB, extended his sympathies to the family of the slain rebel as he urged the remaining combatants to abandon the armed struggle.
“Real progress and development can only be achieved by ending the local communist armed conflict,” he said. (With a report from Mary Judaline Partlow/PNA)/PN
