• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The brief encounter between government troops and rebel remnants in Barangay Caduha-an, Cadiz City on Thursday, Feb. 13, may have pre-empted the extortion activities of the dismantled New People’s Army (NPA) Northern Negros Front.
Lt. Dan Carlo Somoza, spokesman of the Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (IB), said on Friday they recovered extortion letters addressed to small planters and businessmen.
According to a military report, soldiers of the 79IB encountered three NPA remnants, which led to a gunbattle and the injury of a rebel leader, who was able to escape.
Somoza said military operations are ongoing in coordination with the Philippine National Police as they believe that the injured finance officer and his two other companions are still hiding in the area.
Based on their assessment, Somoza said the rebel remnants further splintered into small groups to avoid detection and to have a wider coverage for their extortion activities.
He raised the possibility that the rebel remnants are also targeting candidates in the May 12 elections.
In a statement, Brig. Gen. Ted Dumosmog, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, urged political aspirants to resist the “permit to campaign” and “permit to win” schemes of the rebel remnants in Negros Occidental.
Dumosmog said that elections should be fair and allow citizens to freely choose their candidates without any external influence. | GB
