- GILBERT BAYORAN
Sporadic gunbattles between Army soldiers and members of the New People’s Army further intensified in central Negros, as the government troops pressed their focused military operations and figured in three encounters against the rebels on Oct. 12 and 13.
The sixth encounter ensued Oct. 12 between the 94th Infantry Battalion soldiers and rebels belonging to the group of slain NPA leader Romeo Nanta, in Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City, as state security forces sealed the exit points of the village.
Two other groups of rebels were separately encountered by the 62nd Infantry Battalion, also on Oct. 12 and 13 in barangays Calupaan and Trinidad, all in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.
No casualty was reported on the government side in the three encounters, while traces of bloodstains were discovered along the withdrawal routes of the rebels, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said.
Pasaporte said a .45 caliber pistol was recovered yesterday at the encounter site in Brgy. Trinidad.
In the last seven days, Army soldiers already figured in eight encounters with the rebels that resulted in the killing of Nanta, regional commander of the NPA in Negros Island, and the death of two soldiers, as well as injuries to six other members of the 94th IB.
Mayor Raymund Tongson of Himamaylan yesterday clarified that there are only 3,500 individuals staying in the evacuation centers of the city. He said the reported 18,000 residents were those affected in the sporadic gunbattles in barangays Carabalan, Cabadiangan, and Poblacion 3.
Those staying at the evacuation centers are waiting for clearance from the Army for them to return to their respective homes as the military operations against the fleeing rebels enter its eighth day.
Pasaporte said he has tasked his ground commanders to identify the sitios already cleared, to allow some residents to return to their community.
Social Welfare and Development Undersecretary Vilma Cabrera, accompanied by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Tongson, and 5th District Rep. Dino Yulo, visited the evacuation centers in barangays 1 and 3 Poblacion in Himamaylan Thursday morning, Oct. 13.
Lacson said that DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo assured that the department will provide assistance, such as relief supplies, to the evacuees.
“We just like to know, in case this conflict extends, on how ready is the local government unit,” Lacson said.
The governor said that officials from the DSWD central office, who visited the evacuees, are satisfied with the actions taken by the city government.
Meanwhile, members of the local media were barred from entering, interviewing, and taking pictures and videos of the displaced residents at the evacuation center in Brgy. 1, Himamaylan.
There were reports that the DSWD central office issued the media ban order, but its regional director for Western Visayas, Carmelo Nochete, strongly debunked those.
Pasaporte also denied ordering a media ban./GB
