Army troops tracking down armed men in Guihulngan

From Visayan Daily Star (May 19): Army troops tracking down armed men in Guihulngan

Army troops of the 79th Infantry Battalion are tracking down 20 armed persons, including a woman, reported to have arrived in Guihulngan City in northern Negros Oriental Wednesday afternoon.

The unidentified armed group arrived in Guihulngan City on the same day that the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, headed by Maj. Gen. Jon Aying, had activated the 600-strong 2nd Negros Island Geographical Battalion in Negros Oriental at ceremonies held in Dumaguete City.

Lt. Col. Roderick Garcia, 79th IB commander, in an interview yesterday said a civilian first reported to the police in Guihulngan City the sighting of the armed group he believes are “Communist terrorists”.

Garcia said he immediately deployed his troops to validate the report and they are now conducting operations in the hinterlands of Guihulngan.

A police report yesterday also corroborated the Army report that at around 3:10 p.m. Wednesday, a group of about 20 armed people, wearing camouflage fatigues, was sighted in SitioMatu-og, Barangay Basak in Guihulngan City.

The group,was on board two pumpboats that docked at the shoreline of Matu-og, the police report from the Negros Oriental Philippine National Police Provincial Office said.

The report also said that the group walked through the national highway to the hinterlands of Barangay Binobohan and Barangay Mani-akinGuihulngan, a city about 116.3 kilometers north of Dumaguete, and were allegedly carrying assorted high-powered firearms like a carbine, M-16 rifles and a machine gun.

The police report further said the group is believed to launch tactical offensives against government troops, vital installations and disrupt the coming fiesta celebration of Guihulngan City on May 25 and the tentatively scheduled Federalism Summit there.

Garcia said he strongly believes those who arrived in Guihulngan were Communist terrorists, and not the Abu Sayyaf.

He also said Garcia, the lone female in the group, who must be an “amazon” or lady-fighter, was speaking in the Visayan dialect. He said they could be remnants of the NPA's South Eastern Front operating in southern Negros Oriental, specifically in Sta. Catalina town.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2017/May/19/negor1.htm