FOUR New People’s Army rebels (NPA) were killed in a clash with government troops in Catarman town in Northern Samar last Sunday, the military reported yesterday.
Troops from the Army’s 43rd Infantry Battalion were conducting a combat operation when they encountered seven rebels in the hinterlands of Barangay Mabini in Catarman, the Army’s 8th Infantry Division said.
The military said the operation was launched in response to information provided by a “concerned civilian” about the presence of the rebels from the Sub-Regional Guerrilla Unit, Sub-Regional Committee Emporium of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee.
The firefight that lasted for 15 minutes also led to the recovery of two M16 rifles, two cal. 45 pistols, magazines with ammunition and personal belongings of the insurgents.
Lt. Col. Manuel Degay Jr., commander of the 43rd Infantry Battalion, said some of the rebels who were able to flee were probably injured based on bloodstains found at their withdrawal route.
“From the traces of blood that were observed in the encounter site, and the items left behind, it cannot be denied that there were NPA members who were wounded in the encounter,” Degay said.
Degay and 8th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Camilo Ligayo urged the remaining NPA rebels to surrender.
