Five suspected communist rebels were killed while a soldier was injured in two consecutive armed encounters between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the New People's Army (NPA) in Bilar, Bohol on Tuesday morning, May 25.

The slain suspects -- a female and four males -- have yet to be identified but they allegedly belonged to the NPA's Bohol Party Committee (BPC), said First Lt. Elma Grace Remonde, civil military operations (CMO) officer of the Philippine Army's (PA) 47th Infantry Battalion (47IB), in an interview with the Manila Bulletin.

Major Cenon Pancito III, spokesperson of the Philippine Army's 3rd Infantry Division (3ID), said members of the 47IB were patrolling in Barangay Cabacnitan in response to a report from a concerned citizen about the presence of at least 11 armed men when the first encounter occured at 5:30 a.m.

The encounter site was located in the border of Bilar and Batuan towns in Bohol.

The soldiers and the communist rebels engaged in a 10-minute firefight until the latter were forced to retreat after being overpowered, Pancito said. Three of the enemies were initially killed.

The soldiers called for back-up as the 47IB setup a blockade within the vicinity of the escape route of the rebels when the second encounter took place at 5:40 a.m.

Two more suspected NPAs were killed in the second encounter, Pancito added.

Meanwhile, a soldier with a rank of Private First Class sustained bullet wounds in the body and rushed to a medical facility for treatment.

The wounded soldier "is now in stable condition," Pancito said.

"We have to note that Bohol was once declared as insurgency-free province but there is an effort on the part of the New People's Army to recover Bohol. But we're working together with the local government units, with the populace, who help us in the Philippine Army to locate these ," Pancito said.

In 2010, Bohol was declared as an insurgency-free province by the government but there were a number of"indicators" showing the resurgence of insurgency in the province, including a number of armed encounters between the state forces and NPAs in recent years.

The 47IB recovered on the encounter site the bodies of the slain enemies, two M16 rifles, five caliber .45 pistol, a grenade, bandolier, laptop, six cellular phones, a two-way radio, various ammunition, and documents.

The 47IB conducted pursuit operations and coordinated with the Bilar and Batuan police for the setup of checkpoints to possibly arrest the escaped enemies.