• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A minor who was reportedly caught in the crossfire was killed during an armed encounter between remnants of the New People’s Army and Philippine Army soldiers on Tuesday in Sitio Matal-I, Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.
The seven-year old victim succumbed to gunshot wound in the head, while the fleeing rebels opened fire at the pursuing Army soldiers, according to Lt. Col. Divar Crisostomo, newly-installed commander of the 62nd Infantry Battalion.
Crisostomo, in a radio interview, said his troops were responding to information relayed by civilians on the presence of an armed group in their community.
The result was a gunbattle between Army soldiers and believed to be remnants of the dismantled Central Negros 1 of the Komiteng Rehiyonal-Negros/Cebu/Bohol/Siquijor, which lasted almost 30 minutes.
The fleeing rebels, according to Crisostomo, engaged in indiscriminate firing to delay the pursuing Army soldiers, while withdrawing from the encounter site.
Unfortunately, a minor, whose residence was about 300 meters from the encounter site, was hit by a bullet in the head, as a result of the rebel’s indiscriminate firing, according to the Philippine Army official.
No Army soldiers were hurt in the encounter, while Crisostomo believes that some of the fleeing rebels, reportedly led by certain Ka Apin, have been injured, as they noticed bloodstains along the rebel remnants’ withdrawal route.
The cadaver of the victim was brought to a funeral parlor for autopsy purposes.*
