An Army soldier and a suspected New People's Army (NPA)
rebel were killed in a clash in Sitio Carinay, Barangay Villa Ibaba, Atimonan
town, Quezon Sunday afternoon.
In the engagement that took place 4: 45 p.m., four troopers
were also wounded, Southern Luzon Command spokesperson Major Angelo Guzman
said.
He added that firefight lasted for two hours and resulted in
the death of Cpl. Michael S. Lubian and a still unidentified rebel.
Wounded in action were Privates First Class Jeffrey C.
Morales, Isabelo M. Pascua, Louie M. Tapiador and Ronel L. Diorda.
A NPA M-16 automatic rifle was also recovered.
According to 201st Infantry Brigade commander Col. Rhoderick
Parayno, the encounter is a result of an ongoing battalion operations of the
85th Infantry Battalion.
"We launched an operation to counter tactical
offensives of the NPA who are desperate to recover lost mass bases," he
added.
Parayno said the encounter happened near the vicinity of a
proposed One Energy Power Plant.
"Part of their recovery effort is to sow fear to the
community and extort from businessmen and big companies. We will not allow this
to happen," he stressed.
Two years ago, the Southern Luzon Command cleared Atimonan
of NPA influence and one of SOLCOM head Lt. Gen. Ricardo R. Visaya's marching orders
to ground commanders is not to allow resurgence of NPAs in cleared areas.
"We will preserve our gains in the peace and security
in Quezon. The recent encounters we had in the province are temporary as we are
determined in realizing our shared goal of developing a culture of peace in the
province," he added.
Last July 8, three NPAs were killed in an encounter with the
85th Infantry Battalion in Mauban, Quezon.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=782037
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