• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A suspected remnant of the New People’s Army died yesterday in renewed armed skirmishes with Philippine Army soldiers in Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.
Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, public affairs chief of 3rd Infantry Division, said that the first encounter took place in Sitio Inangaw after the troops were informed by residents on the presence of about seven armed men.
After almost 10 minutes of gunbattle, the rebels, believed to be remnants of the dismantled Central Negros 1 guerrilla front, fled but also encountered the blocking force of the 62nd Infantry Battalion in Sitio Saksak.
The two encounters resulted to the death of Richard dela Peña and the recovery of an M16 assault rifle with three magazines containing ammunition and subversive documents.
No one among the 62IB soldiers was hurt, Javines said. | GB
