• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Troopers of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion-Negros Island Region (RMFB-NIR), who were escorting a local official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, encountered a group of New People’s Army rebels in Calatrava, Negros Occidental on Sunday, June 14.
All personnel of the RMFB-NIR involved in an armed encounter have been accounted for and are safe, according to the Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR).
While in pursuit of fleeing NPA rebel remnants in Sitio Kabaglagnan, Barangay Lalong, police troopers recovered broken pieces of M16 assault rifle.
The armed engagement between the police and suspected rebels led to the suspension of classes in the village.
Soldiers of the 79th Infantry Battalion joined the RMFB-NIR troops in the conduct of pursuit operations.
In a statement, the PRO-NIR urged residents to remain calm.
The gunbattle ensued as authorities are also in pursuit of rebels, who claimed responsibility for the recent deaths of three civilians in Calatrava and Toboso. | GPB
