Army plays “Good Samaritan” to wounded NPA in SurSur

From the Philippine Information Agency (Mar 14): Army plays “Good Samaritan” to wounded NPA in SurSur

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, March 14 (PIA) – A wounded man, believed to be a member of the Guerilla Front Committee (GFC) 21 of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Command (NEMRC) was immediately brought to a hospital here for treatment after being found profusely bleeding by army troopers in a “vegetative area just a kilometer away from the encounter site.”

According to 1Lt. Karl Jan Devaras, commander, 41st Civil Military Operations (CMO) Company, 4th CMO Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (4ID) of the Philippine Army based in Barangay St. Christine, Lianga, this province, the concerned troops under the 2nd Special Forces Battalion (2nd SF) outright applied “first aid” to the said man, whose identity was not revealed, before rushing him to a hospital for medical attention.

The patient “is now in stable condition,” the CMO commander hinted.

Devaras likewise believed, this NPA member was left behind by undetermined number of comrades who were then in a hurry to get away as soldiers were going after them following a 15-minute gun battle at the vicinity of Sitio Baroboan, Barangay Caromata, San Miguel town, 31 kilometers, south, this city.  

“After the said firefight, government troops immediately cleared the encounter area and discovered several bloodstains thereat,” Devaras noted.

With the display of gallantry, Lt. Col. Gaspar Panopio, 2nd SF battalion commander, under the 402nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army (PA) led by Col. Isidro Purisima, brigade commander, in Surigao del Sur, commended his “troops for maintaining a high sense of professionalism and for observing the ‘rules of engagement (ROE)’ in the battlefield,” said the CMO officer.

Beforehand, Lt. Col. Panopio, whose battalion is based in San Miguel , was quoted as saying, “I encourage the remaining lawless bandits to surrender; their former comrades have already surrendered and received benefits from the Government’s integration program (CLIP),” referring to the Comprehensive Local Integration Program.

Meanwhile, according to a recent report contained in the “Accomplishment Updates” by Col. Purisima, since the 2nd Quarter of 2015 to the 1st Quarter of 2016, a total of 93 former rebels (FRs) have already stood to gain from the CLIP.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1741457925612/army-plays-good-samaritan-to-wounded-npa-in-sursur