Two suspected New People’s Army rebels died in an encounter with troopers of the 94th Infantry Battalion in Sitio Belo, Brgy. Buenavista, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental Dec. 14.
Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said that 94IB troopers responded to reports of civilians on the presence of armed rebels in their community.
Pasaporte said that 94IB soldiers encountered about 10 NPA members believed to have been involved in the recent killing of a civilian in the barangay, and a gunbattle ensued, before the rebels withdrew from the encounter site.
The fleeing rebels left their two slain comrades, whose identities are still being established, as of this time, he added.
Initial recoveries at the encounter site included two .45 caliber pistols, assorted explosives, and subversive documents.
Three days earlier, a former government militiaman was killed by suspected NPA rebels in Sitio Cantupa, also in the barangay, Himamaylan City police chief, Lt. Col. Romeo Vargas, said. — GB
