Police, military in Negros not backing down

BACOLOD City – The Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) cannot afford to just wait to be attacked by the New People’s Army (NPA), according to the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO).

Government forces are ready any time to initiate a counteroffensive, a statement from the NOCPPO read.

Government troops and rebels clashed in Purok Puting Bato, Barangay Washington, Escalante City, Negros Occidental around 10 a.m. on Sunday. The Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (IB) in Murcia, Negros Occidental said this resulted in the death of two NPA rebels.

Captain Franco Ver Lopez, civic-military operations officer of the 303rd IB, said joint elements of the 79th Infantry Battalion, 6th Special Action Force Battalion, Philippine National Police and Joint Intelligence Task Group proceeded to the area after receiving reports from concerned citizens on the presence of 10 fully-armed NPAs seeking refuge.

A gun-battle lasted about 15 minutes. The NPAs withdrew towards northwest direction bringing with them at least two dead members.

Recovered from the scene were an M16 rifle, a .45 pistol, a bandoleer with six steel magazines and 120 live ammunitions, two water containers, two sacks of rice, assorted belongings, and subversive documents with high intelligence value.

There were no casualties on the government side, Lopez said.

The NOCPPO accused the NPA of using communities as a shield while collecting revolutionary taxes and making their plans against government forces.

It also said it found new witnesses in the “Sagay 9” massacre that took place last month, pinning the blame on the Communist Party of the Philippines and NPA./PN

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