Posted to Kalinaw News (Dec 28, 2020): Soldiers score anew in Agusan del Norte
KITCHARAO, Agusan Del Norte – The 29th Infantry (Matatag) Battalion scored anew after a firefight ensued between soldiers and communist NPA terrorists in Sitio Tinago, Barangay Baleguian, Jabonga, Agusan del Norte, 7 o’clock in the morning, December 27.
According to report of 29IB under Lieutenant Colonel Aristotle Antonio, the unit launched an operation in response the information provided by displeased civilians regarding the presence of more or less 15 armed NPA terrorists who were seen staging celebration of Communist Party of the Philippines founding anniversary a day before the said clash transpired. The said group was believed to be under Marvin Bugas alias Eman of SYP16A, Guerilla Front 16.
The said encounter lasted for almost an hour and resulted to the death of two NPA members (1 male and 1 female) and seizure of two AK47 rifles, assorted magazines with live ammunition, one cellphone, personal belongings and subversive documents with high intelligence value.
In the statement of Mayor Napoleon M. Montero of Jabonga, he said that the local government fully understand that the incident was a result of legitimate military operation conducted by the government forces in their area. He further cited that Barangay Baleguian was among the identified conflict-affected areas in the province and one of the recipients of the Retooled Community Support Program with the objective of ending the local communist armed conflict.
He also added that the local government will do its part to support the Philippine Army and all the involved government agencies and instrumentalities in ending the insurgency problem to finally bring peace and development in their area.
Meanwhile, Colonel George L. Banzon, Commander of 901st Infantry “Fight ’Em” Brigade, said that the encounter was a product of the continuing efforts and proactive measures being implemented by the unit to deny the communist terrorists from conducting atrocities while the communities are in observance of yuletide season.
“We intensified our monitoring and operations during these holidays to ensure that these communist terrorists will not have the opportunity to unleash violence to highlight CPP’s anniversary which they usually practice in the past years”, the Commander said.
He further said that the intensified operations will continue particularly in the areas where the armed CNTs are frequently sighted in order to keep them away from their traditional guerilla bases and be isolated from their former masses. He further said that with the convergence of different sectors and cooperation being extended by the civilians the CNTs are now losing grounds and running out of space.
“The recent encounter may serve as stern warning for the remaining members of the CTG that there’s no more safe place for them. The people nowadays are aware of their deceitful tactics and they are already cooperative in our peace efforts. The CTG’s remaining option is to surrender and abandoned the armed struggle ” he added.
On the other hand, Col. Banzon expressed condolences to the families of the NPA casualties citing that they were just victims of CTG’s deceptions and lies.
“We offer our deepest sympathy to the families of two NPA members who were killed in the recent encounter and we also condemn the CPP-NPA-NDF for endangering the lives of many just to pursue their communist agenda”, he said.
As of this press time, pursuit operations are ongoing while the identities of the casualties are being verified.
[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]
https://www.kalinawnews.com/soldiers-score-anew-in-agusan-del-norte/
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