A NEW People’s Army (NPA) rebel died in an encounter with government troops in Surigao del Sur while six others surrendered in Agusan del Norte last Monday.
The Army’s 4th Infantry Division (ID) identified the slain rebel as Dexter Maca, alias Jeric, a member of Platoon 1 of the NPA’s Guerilla Front 30.
Maca died after he and his comrades clashed with elite troops from the Army’s 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion during a combat operation in Barangay Maticdum in Tandag City, Agusan del Sur.
Soldiers seized a Bushmaster rifle after the clash.
In Agusan del Norte, six NPA rebels surrendered at the headquarters of the Army’s 29th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Del Pilar in Cabadbaran City.
The six brought with them five high-powered firearms — two AR15 rifles, an AK47 rifle, an M4 Carbine rifle, and an M14 rifle.
Also last Monday, troops from the Army’s 8th Infantry Battalion clashed with NPA rebels in Barangay Mandahican in Cabangsalan, Bukidnon.
No one was reported killed or injured in the firefight but soldiers seized an AK47 rifle, an M1 Garand rifle, and assorted medical paraphernalia at the encounter site.
Maj. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, 4th ID commander, vowed the military will further intensify combat and intelligence operations against NPA rebels.
“Remaining CTG (communist terrorist group) members must surrender or be hunted down,” said Cuerpo.
Cuerpo said the government would help the NPA rebels start new lives through the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program if they would surrender.
