- GILBERT BAYORAN
About 258 families have been displaced by a series of encounters between Army soldiers and suspected New People’s Army rebels Feb. 4 and 5 in the hinterlands of Brgy. Oringao, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Kabankalan City Mayor Benjie Miranda posted on his Facebook account that the 258 families, composed of 718 individuals, are temporarily staying at the Oringao barangay covered court for their safety, and their immediate needs are being attended to.
Capt. Mervin Rosal, 303rd Infantry Brigade Civil Military Operations officer, yesterday said that 94th Infantry Battalion soldiers encountered about 15 NPA rebels Feb. 4, while conducting security patrols to validate reports of rebel extortion activities and harassments of residents in Oringao.
Pursuit operations by the 94IB led to another two separate armed clashes with fleeing rebels in the same barangay yesterday. There was no report of injury on the part of government troops, said Capt. Eduardo Rarugal, 94IB CMO officer./GPB
