Security troops gun down 4 NPA rebels, capture 2 in Negros clash
HEAVY fighting erupted between patrolling security troops and a band of New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas in Ilog, Negros Occidental early morning Tuesday resulting in the killing of four rebels and the capture of two others who were wounded and abandoned by their retreating fellows, Philippine National Police chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar said.
According to the top cop, the two wounded NPA gunmen were immediately given medical attention by a police medical team following a more than hour-long gunfight in Sitio Balik-Balik in Barangay Tabo in Ilog municipality 7:20 a.m. Tuesday.
Citing a report from PNP Special Action Force director, Major Gen. Felipe R. Natividad, the PNP chief said that members of the SAF’s 61st, 64th and 65th Special Action Companies, the 2nd Negros Occidental Mobile Force Company, the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 6 and the Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion were conducting a combat operation in the area when they encountered the rebels.
“The gunbattle which lasted for an hour and 10 minutes resulted in the death of the four terrorists who were found in possession of four long firearms and several magazines and live ammunition. No casualties were reported on the government side,” Gen. Eleazar said.
Brig. Gen. Natividad said that PNP-SAF medics applied first-aid treatment to the two wounded leftist gunmen, one of htem identified as Nilda Bertulano in order to prepare them for medical evacuation.
A record check showed that Bertulano is the subject of a non-bailable warrant of arrest for murder issued by Judge Renato Muñez of the Cadiz City Regional Trial Court Branch 60. The accused was described as a secretary of the NPA South West Party operating in the province.
“The wounded CPP-NPA terrorists will be given appropriate medical treatment until they can fully recover to face investigation and prosecution,” Gen. Eleazar said.
PNP-SAF commandos led by Captains Bill Fernando Jumalon and Honor Rey Hibaya and Lieutenant Carlo Vino Buaquen led the operation which was triggered by an intelligence report regarding the presence of a band of heavily-armed men in the area, said Gen. Eleazar.
“Napag-alaman din natin na itong mga rebelde ay nagrerecruit ng mga bago nilang miyembro sa naturang lugar. Saludo ako sa ating mga pulis dahil sa matagumpay nilang operasyon laban sa mga teroristang ito, at hindi tayo titigil hangga’t hindi natin sila nahuhuli at mawakasan ang pagsira sa kinabukasan ng mga kabataan at pamilya ng kanilang narerecruit,” Gen. Eleazar added.
Police and military troops are still conducting mopping-up operations at the encounter site while local policemen established blockades in all possible exit routes in the municipality to intercept the fleeing guerrillas, said the PNP chief.
