Army troops encounter suspected NPA rebels in southern Negros Oriental

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 17): Army troops encounter suspected NPA rebels in southern Negros Oriental

Government troops clashed with suspected members of the rebel New People’s Army (NPA) early Tuesday afternoon in the southern town of Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental.

Soldiers of the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, led by 1Lt. Mark Calamba, exchanged fire with more or less 15 armed men believed to be members of the NPA’s Komiteng Rehiyonal Sentral Bisayas-South East Front around 1 p.m. Tuesday at Sitio Nagud-od, Barangay Nagbalaye in Sta. Catalina.

Firefight lasted for about 15 minutes before the suspected insurgents withdrew.

According to Brig. Gen. Francisco Patrimonio, commander of the 302nd Brigade and the mother unit of the 79th IB, the soldiers were conducting security patrol in the hinterland village of Nagbalaye when they received a tip from a civilian on the sighting of armed men in the vicinity of Nagud-od.

The clash erupted after the soldiers acted upon the information relayed to them from the civilian, said Brig. Gen. Patrimonio.

Pursuit operations continue although no casualties were reported at press time.

The Army commander has assured that operating troops are properly observing the rules of engagement “to avoid unnecessary loss of civilian lives and destruction of property”.

Government forces will carry out relentless anti-insurgency combat operations in Negros despite the pull-out of the Scout Rangers who were deployed to war-torn Zamboanguita City, Patrimonio said.

According to Brig. Gen. Patrimonio, they are not letting their guard down especially with the recent encounter between government troops and suspected NPA rebels at the boundary of Toboso and Sagay in Negros Occidental last Saturday.

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