• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Three suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels died in separate gunbattles with government troops in Negros Island on Jan. 17 and 18.
The first encounter took place between soldiers of 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) and five remnants of the dismantled Central Negros (CN) 1 guerilla front in Hacienda Gomez, Barangay Sag-ang, La Castellana, Negros Occidental on Wednesday.
Two rebels, identified as Bernard Torres Sr. of Barangay Buenavista, and Boy Baloy of Barangay Linantuyan, both in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, died on the spot.
Army soldiers scouring the encounter site recovered an AR15 assault rifle, a caliber .45 pistol, a homemade 12-gauge shotgun, assorted magazines of firearms with ammunition, two backpacks containing medical paraphernalia and personal belongings, and subversive documents.
1Lt. Mary Liza Joy De Guzman, civil-military operations officer of 62IB, said the remnants of the dismantled CN1 guerilla front fled to the hinterlands of La Castellana after a series of debacles in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, and Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.
The encounter in La Castellana took place several days after 79th Infantry Battalion soldiers also overran a hideout and recovered assorted firearms of about five remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front in Barangay Cambayobo, Calatrava, Negros Occidental.
Another gunbattle ensued between 11th Infantry Battalion soldiers and about nine remnants of the dismantled South East Front at Sitio Sug-ong, Barangay Milagrosa, Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental on Thursday.
The skirmishes led to the death of a suspected NPA member, whose identity has yet to be established, and the recovery of an M16 assault rifle, three AK47 assault rifle magazines containing ammunition, an M203 grenade launcher ammunition, and nine back packs containing personal belongings.
PCol. Leo Pamittan, police provincial director of Negros Occidental, said that the NPA remnants in central Negros, who are now fleeing the mountains due to focused military operations, are trying to regain the support of the masses to serve as their “force multipliers”.
“Officially, they are not existing as to their numbers. They are now a handful of remnants,” he added.
The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division has declared to have dismantled all the five NPA guerilla fronts in Negros Island. | GB
