RETRIEVAL OPERATION. Troops of the Philippine Army and scene of the crime operatives of the Philippine National Police retrieve on Saturday (Feb. 24, 2024) the body of one of the New People’s Army rebels killed during the encounter in the hinterlands of Escalante City, Negros Occidental last week. On Monday (Feb. 26), government forces continued to conduct clearing operations in the clash site in Barangay Pinapugasan. (Photo courtesy of 79th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army)
BACOLOD CITY – Troops of the Philippine Army continue to conduct clearing operations in the hinterlands of northern Negros Occidental on Monday as classes resumed and some of the displaced residents returned home after a series of armed encounters in Barangay Pinapugasan, Escalante City last week.
Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, public affairs division chief of 3rd Infantry Division, said government troops are making sure the area remains secure although they have no longer monitored any presence of communist rebels.
“The clearing operation is continuing,” Javines said in an interview.
On Monday, the suspension of classes, which took effect on Friday, was lifted in eight villages in Escalante City and the entire Toboso town after the local government units (LGUs) received clearance from the Philippine Army.
Over the weekend, the 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) assisted hundreds of internally displaced persons in the two localities in returning to their homes although there are still at least a hundred who remained in Barangay Pinapugasan Proper on Monday.
Reports of the local social welfare and development offices showed 1,092 individuals from 268 families were affected by the clashes between the troops of 79IB and remnants of the New People’s Army Northern Negros Front.
Of the number, some 980 individuals from 240 families sought shelter in evacuation centers.
Aside from receiving assistance from the LGUs, the displaced families were also provided food and non-food items worth PHP971,364 by the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Western Visayas.
The series of encounters, which took place on Feb. 21-22, claimed the lives of three NPA rebels, including Emaryn “Jandie” Pastedio and Christopher “Michael” Ebarle, who were recruited as child warriors several years back, and Jose Caramihan, a former member of an anti-crime volunteer group.
On the government side, three soldiers and a militiaman were wounded during the first encounter on Feb. 21.
They each received a Wounded Personnel Medal from the Philippine Army while being confined at a hospital in Bacolod City.
The injured soldiers were identified as 2nd Lt. Frenzy Jarey Gonzales, Privates First Class Jiesard Mesina and Sandie Cabayle, as well as Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit member Eduardo Linogon.
In a related development, the outgoing commanding officer of the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, whose coverage area includes northern Negros Oriental, on Monday highlighted the need for a sustained holistic approach to end the Communist insurgency.
Col. William Pesase, whose tour of duty of a little over two years will end on Tuesday, told the Philippine News Agency that although Negros Island has already been declared under a state of Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS), “we should not let our guard down.”
“Declaring Negros to be in a state of stable internal peace and security is different from saying that it is insurgency-free because there are still remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA) guerilla fronts on the island,” Pesase said.
While the government, through the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, has announced that all NPA guerilla fronts in Negros are already dismantled, the remaining members must be under close monitoring to prevent them from recouping and building up their mass bases, he added.
Pesase will relinquish his command to Lt. Col. Evelio Ilanga during a turnover ceremony at the 62nd IB headquarters in Isabela, Negros Occidental with Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, 3rd Infantry Division commander, presiding the event. (With a report from Mary Judaline Partlow, PNA)
