• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A minor died after he was reportedly caught in a crossfire during an encounter between remnants of the New People’s Army and troops of the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
Lt. Col. Divar Crisostomo, commander of the 62IB, said the seven-year-old victim was hit in the head while the fleeing rebels opened fire at the pursuing soldiers in Sitio Matil-e, Barangay Quintin Remo.
Crisostomo, in a radio interview, said his troops responded to the information relayed by civilians on the presence of an armed group in their community.
This resulted to a gunbattle between the soldiers and believed to be remnants of the dismantled NPA Central Negros 1, which lasted for almost 30 minutes.
The fleeing rebels engaged in indiscriminate firing to delay the pursuing soldiers while withdrawing.
The minor’s family is residing about 300 meters from the encounter site.
No one was hurt among the soldiers, Crisostomo said, but he believes that some of the fleeing rebels reportedly led by a certain “Ka Apin” have been injured, based on the bloodstains along their withdrawal route. | GB
