By Glazyl Masculino
BACOLOD CITY - Four soldiers were wounded after they were ambushed by suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Barangay Luz, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental Tuesday night.
(62nd IB / MANILA BULLETIN)
Wounded were Second Lt. Neil Christian Cureg, team leader of the Army’s 94th Infantry Battalion (IB), Sgt. Ronald Sabay, Sgt Gelmart Alegroso, and PFC Joven Ticzon. They sustained minor wounds and are now in stable condition.
According to Lt. Col. Egberto Dacoscos, 62nd IB commander, troops of the 94th IB were on board a military truck traversing the boundary of Isabela in Negros Occidental and Guihulngan City when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded, and about five armed men fired their guns at them, which resulted in a 10-minute firefight.
Dacoscos said Cureg and his personnel were able to retaliate and maneuver to a defensive position until the gunmen fled towards Barangay Banog-Banog in Isabela town.
The Army reported that rebels suffered casualties based on the bloodstains left in the area.
Troops of the 62nd IB were dispatched for reinforcement.
Authorities recovered some materials for IED allegedly used by the rebel group in the attack.
Dacoscos, in a press statement, said that the Leonardo Panaligan Command in Negros was already desperate for they were struggling to get the support of the masses.”
Last Friday, two suspected members of the Special Partisan Unit (Sparu) of the NPA were killed in a clash at Barangay Binobohan, Guihulngan City.
Recently, Barangays Luz and Linantuyan in Guihulngan City have declared the NPA as persona non-grata.
“With the support of the Negrenses, we will never cease our efforts for peace and development anchored in the institutionalization of the Whole-of-Nation-Approach to end the local communist armed conflict,” Dacoscos said.