Army lieutenant wounded in Sultan Kudarat clash feted

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 22, 2022): Army lieutenant wounded in Sultan Kudarat clash feted (By Edwin Fernandez)

HONORED. Maj. Gen. Robert Capulong, the Army’s acting 6th Infantry Division commander, pins a medal on 1Lt. Jomar C. Binay-an in a ceremony held inside the Camp Siongco Hospital in Maguindanao Tuesday (June 21, 2022). The young officer was wounded in a clash between his unit and communist rebels in Sultan Kudarat’s town of Palimbang. (Photo courtesy of 6ID)

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – A young Army lieutenant injured in an encounter with communist rebels in Sultan Kudarat received recognition Tuesday afternoon from the Philippine Army’s (PA) 6th Infantry Division (ID) here.

In a statement Wednesday, the 6ID said 1st Lt. Jomar C Binay-an received the Wounded Personnel Medal from Maj. Gen. Roberto Capulong, acting 6ID commander, at the Camp Siongco Station Hospital, in recognition of his bravery.

Binay-an, executive officer of Bravo Company of the 7th Infantry Battalion, was wounded during an encounter against communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Barangay Baluan, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat on June 15.

An NPA rebel was killed while another surrendered with his rifle following the clash.

Aside from the medal, Capulong also gave cash assistance and groceries to Binay-an.

“This is in recognition of his heroic acts by putting his life in grave danger while pursuing terrorist groups in the hinterlands of Palimbang,” Capulong said.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The NDF has been formally identified as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1177253