• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Armed clashes between Army soldiers and remnants of the New People’s Army erupted anew in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, leaving two rebels dead.
1Lt. Mary Liza Joy De Guzman, spokesperson of the 62nd Infantry Battalion, yesterday said that the first encounter between Army soldiers and six NPA rebels, which lasted about 20 minutes, took place in Sitio Cupad in Brgy. Macagahay, Moises Padilla.
De Guzman added that the fleeing rebels were encountered by a blocking force of the 62IB, resulting in a running gunbattle that lasted about 15 minutes, in Sitio Manta-uyan, Brgy. Macagahay, Moises Padilla.
While scouring the two encounter sites, he said Army troopers recovered the bodies of two slain rebels who were left behind by their fleeing comrades.
Also recovered from the encounter sites were an M16 assault rifle with four magazines containing ammunition, a 12-gauge shotgun with two ammunition, a .38 caliber revolver with six ammunition, a rifle grenade, a pair of binoculars, two backpacks, two sling bags, two bandoliers. and a power bank.
The latest encounter in Brgy. Macagahay, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, temporarily displaced 32 families who are now secured by the concerned local government unit that provided food packs, De Guzman said.
Two weeks ago, five rebels were also killed in an encounter with 62IB soldiers in Brgy. Quintin Remo, also in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, and four others in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.*
