BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Four suspected armed members of the New People’s Army Yunit Militia were captured yesterday by soldiers, following an encounter in Sitio Cunalom, Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.
Soldiers of the 94th Infantry Battalion were conducting combat operations when they encountered a group of NPA rebels, its commander, Lt. Col. Angelo Guzman, said.
Captured were Jovel Pacheco, 41, Francisco Verde Jr., 37, Gene Boy Verde, 32, and Ronald Pacheco, 22.
Guzman said that the apprehension of the four NPA militiamen yielded a .22 caliber rifle, two .38 caliber revolvers with ammunition, a homemade shotgun, and a 40mm grenade launcher ammunition.
A soldier was also injured and is now in stable condition, he added.
Guzman said that they have received persistent reports of extortion activities by the NPA in the hinterland sitios of Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City, which prompted him to dispatch soldiers, in response to complaints of residents in the area.
The 94th IB turned over the captured rebels and firearms to the Himamaylan police.*
