DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines said a member of the New People’s Army was killed and one soldier was wounded in series of armed confrontations that took place on Thursday morning, August 3, in the provinces of Davao Occidental and Compostela Valley.
In a statement on Friday, Captain Rhyan Batchar, chief of the information office of 10th Infantry (Agila) Division said several high-powered firearms were also recovered by government troopers at the encounter sites.
He said that elements of 73rd Infantry Battalion encountered an undetermined number of NPA rebels in Sitio Malbag, Barangay Little Baguio, Malita, Davao Occidental at 10:40 a.m. on Thursday.
A dead NPA member who is still unidentified as of press time and an M-16 Armalite rifle were recovered by the government troopers in the encounter site, Batchar said.
“The troopers responded to reports of civilians on the presence of NPA rebels in the area that resulted in said encounter,” he added.
On the same date, series of armed confrontations also took place in the town of Montevista in Compostela Valley province, Batchar reported.
Elements of 25th Infantry Battalion, while conducting security patrol, chanced upon around 20 NPA rebels belonging to Guerilla Front 33 and Pulang Bagani 4 in Purok 4, Barangay Mayaon, Montevista.
A 15-minute encounter immediately ensued that resulted in the wounding of one government trooper, Batchar said.
The name of the wounded soldier was temporarily withheld pending notification of his family.
Government troopers recovered four M16 Armalite rifles, one M14 rifle, two M1 Garand rifles, one M2 carbine rifle, one .38 revolver, backpacks containing personal belongings and several subversive documents at the encounter site, he said.
By the afternoon of the same date, another encounter broke out during the pursuit operations conducted by 25th IB troopers.
Batchar said the 10-minute firefight resulted in the recovery of two M16 Armalite rifle, two M14 rifles, two M1 Garand rifle, one AK-47 rifle, an improvised explosive device and personal belongings.
Meanwhile, in the same statement sent to the media on Friday, Brig. Gen. Macairog Alberto, commander of 1001stInfantry Brigade lauded the government troopers.
“As long as NPA rebels continue to terrorize the people of Compostela Valley, the military will not hesitate to use legitimate force to drive them away from the community and its people,” Alberto said.
Major General Noel Clement, commander of 10th ID appreciated the support of the people to the government soldiers.
“While we address the armed threats, we shall also intensify our support to the local government units by establishing communities that are conflict-resilient through our Community Support Program,” Clement said. (davaotoday.com)
