RECOVERED. The weapons and other items seized by troops of the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion after an encounter with remnants of the New People’s Army Central Negros 1 Front in Barangay Sag-ang, La Castellana, Negros Occidental on Wednesday (Jan. 17, 2024). The clash claimed the lives of two unidentified NPA fighters. (Photo courtesy of 62nd Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army)
BACOLOD CITY – Two Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) rebels died in a clash with troops of the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) in the remote Barangay Sag-ang of La Castellana, Negros Occidental Wednesday morning.
Personnel of the local disaster unit retrieved the bodies of the still unidentified male fatalities and brought them to a funeral parlor in the town proper.
First Lt. Liza de Guzman, civil-military operations officer of 62IB, said the troops responded to information from the locals on the presence of armed men attempting to conduct extortion and recruitment activities in the area of Hacienda Gomez.
Around 6:45 a.m., soldiers engaged about five remnants of the Central Negros (CN) 1 Front for about three minutes, after which the three rebels fled, leaving their two comrades behind.
The bodies of the unidentified rebels were found by the troops, along with several weapons, including an AR15 rifle, a homemade shotgun, a caliber .45 pistol, magazines with ammunition, as well as medical items, two backpacks containing personal items, and subversive documents.
According to the 62IB, the remnants of the CN1 Front left their lairs in the mountainous areas of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, and Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, due to numerous losses during encounters in recent months.
Lt. Col. William Pesase, commander of 62IB, acknowledged the continued cooperation and support of civilians in Barangay Sag-ang in tracking down the communist rebels.
“We call on the fleeing rebels to voluntarily surrender, especially the wounded, for them to be given proper medical treatment,” he said.
Pesase said the government forces are giving them a chance to return to the fold of the law and avail of benefits from the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.
“Or they can suffer the same fate as their comrades as our troops will tirelessly hunt them down,” he added. (PNA)
