Sporadic gunbattles between Army soldiers and members of the New People’s Army ensued Thursday in the hinterlands of Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, following the discovery of suspected harboring area of rebels, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said last night.
Acting on information from civilians, Pasaporte said that 94th Infantry Battalion soldiers figured in about 40 minutes of gunbattle, with an estimated 20 armed rebels in Sitio Sig-ang, Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City, at about 6 a.m. yesterday.
The fleeing rebels left behind newly-cooked food, logistical needs, and personal belongings at their harboring area while traces of bloodstains were also discovered along their escape routes, Pasaporte said.
At about 3 p.m. yesterday, Army soldiers caught up with some of the rebels, resulting in sporadic gunbattles, he added.
Pasaporte discourages residents from returning to the encounter sites, for security reasons, and advised them to stay in the poblacion proper in the meantime.
More Army soldiers, in close coordination with other government security forces, were also deployed in neighboring areas to track down the fleeing rebels.
Pasaporte said he believes that those rebels encountered by 94IB soldiers may have been coming from other areas of Negros Island, to augment remnants of the Central Negros (Front) 2, which they classified as a “weakened” guerilla front, because many of its members had either surrendered, or were killed, following focused military operations against them.
He also suspects that government forces were able to thwart possible terrorist activities of the armed group that was consolidating its forces in the area./GPB
