EVIDENCE. A soldier from the 802nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army stands to guard the firearms, ammunitions, gadgets, subversive documents with high intelligence value, and personal belongings left by the fleeing rebels after an encounter in Barangay Anislagan, Kalubian, Leyte on Dec. 13, 2018. (Photo contributed by the 3rd Community Relations Group of the Armed Forces of the Philippines)
CEBU CITY – The commander of the Central Command (Centcom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Friday commended the soldiers of the Philippine Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade stationed in Eastern Visayas for successfully raiding a “plenum” held by the New People’s Army (NPA) at the outskirts of Barangay Anislagan, Kalubian, Leyte, early morning of Dec. 13, scoring firearms and subversive documents.
Lieutenant General Noel Clement, Centcom commander, said in a statement obtained by the Philippine News Agency that the Brigade received report from the residents about an ongoing "plenum" (meeting) of the “communist-terrorist groups” in the said area.
“We definitely hit them hard and we will hit them harder as we have the support of the people in the communities. Congratulations to the swift response of our troops. We were able to frustrate the plans of these terrorists,” Clement said.
According to his statement, Brigadier General Lope Dagoy, brigade commander, immediately deployed two squads from the 93rd Infantry Battalion and 78th Infantry Battalion to encircle the rebels who were, at that time, conducting a meeting.
The government troops encountered at least 20 NPA rebels in the area. The firefight lasted for about 30 minutes, with the rebels fleeing from the site, Clement said.
The Army troopers recovered one M16 rifle, two homemade shotguns, three magazines loaded with 5.56 caliber ammunitions, gadgets, subversive documents with high intelligence value, and personal belongings believed to be owned by the rebels.
“There is an insurgency situation in the area that needs to be addressed. NPA terrorists continue (with) their extortion and recruitment activities, victimizing the poor farmers and children,” Dagoy said in his report to the Centcom commander.
He said the civilian populace in the area reported the presence of the rebels in Barangay Anislagan.
"With the success of our operation, we give credits to the timely and relevant information provided by the civilians who are fed up of these atrocities,” Dagoy said.
Soldiers from the two battalions under the tactical control of 802nd Brigade are, as of this writing, are conducting pursuit operation against the fleeing rebels.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1056694
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