ILIGAN CITY — An Army personnel of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion was wounded after a 30-minute firefight with suspected communist New People’s Army (NPA) fighters Wednesday noon in Sitio Pudog, Barangay Mainit here.
Lt Col. Domingo Dulay, 4MIB commander, said the troops responded to information provided by residents that suspected NPA fighters were extorting food and money from the villages.
“The wounded soldier is now in stable condition while other troops continue to search and conduct pursuit operation against the fleeing members of the rebel communist terrorist group. The troops are confident that some NPA members were also wounded in the clash based on the blood stains in the encounter site,” Dulay said.
Dulay, who was unable to disclose the identity of the wounded soldier as of this posting, said the rebels may have suffered from lack of food supplies that pushed them to extort from the residents who are also affected by the coronavirus disease quarantine.
“The government has repeatedly called on the members of the NPA to avail of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP) in order for them to come back to the folds of the law and live peacefully,” Dulay said.
The Army official vowed the military will continue to work closely with the City Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (CTF-ELCAC) to ensure that services of the government reach the far-flung barangays such as Barangay Mainit.
In 2019, the barangay council of Mainit passed a resolution denouncing the presence of the NPA in the area and declaring the communist rebel movement persona non grata.
Brigadier General Facundo Palafox IV, commander of the Army’s 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, said the Armed FP will continue to go after “these communist terrorists wherever they are, and will execute the mandate to protect the people from all forms of threat.”
“We call on all members of the NPA to surrender and join the mainstream society. You all have been deceived but the government is willing to help rebuild your lives together with your family,” Palafox said.
[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]
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