BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – A suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebel was killed in a gun battle with government forces in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental’s Barangay Buenavista on Wednesday.
Authorities have yet to identify the fatality.
Philippine Army 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) spokesperson Captain Kim Apitong said elements of the 94th Infantry Battalion (94IB) conducted combat operations in Sitio Bulasot, Barangay Buenavista after receiving complaints from local residents that rebels were conducting extortion activities in an adjacent village.
The gun battle started at around 9:30 a.m. and lasted for at least 30 minutes.
Government forces recovered an M16 rifle along with four magazines, a magazine for an M14 rifle and live bullets, as well as subversive documents.
They also recovered several food items believed to have been taken from local residents, along with three backpacks.
Apitong said the food would be returned to the affected residents in the area.
The 3ID commander, Major General Benedict Arevalo, meanwhile, said the encounter was another noteworthy accomplishment of the troops in its anti-insurgency drive.
He also commended the residents in the area for supporting government troops.
“We are calling the remaining NPA members to surrender or they will end up with the same fate as their comrade who died in the Army’s relentless combat operations,” Arevalo added./PN
