BACOLOD CITY -- The Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Batallion (IB) discovered the remains of another alleged member of the New People’s Army (NPA) on Monday, Oct 31, following two clashes in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Saturday, Oct. 29.
Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde), identified the slain rebel as Marlon alias ‘Max’ Albino, an alleged member of Central Negros (CN) 1, and a resident of Barangay Trinidad.
Albino’s remains were discovered in Barangay Buenavista, a day after the cadaver of Michael ‘Raymond’ Asuncion was discovered on Oct. 30.
Pasaporte said that both remains were already claimed by their respective families.
Pasaporte said the two slain rebels were believed to have been killed during the second encounter in Barangay Buenavista.
The clashes in the city which first broke out in Barangay Planas came after the 62nd IB troops responded to a report on alleged extortion activities of the NPA in the said village amid the Army’s disaster response operations in relation to Tropical Storm ‘Paeng.’ Aside from these two clashes, the 62nd IB also engaged in another firefight with the NPA rebels in Barangay Magsaysay on Oct. 31.
Pasaporte said that no evacuation in relation to the insurgency was conducted, despite the three encounters.
Meanwhile, the Leonardo Panaligan Command of the NPA, in a press statement, said that five soldiers were killed in the Oct. 29 encounter.
Pasaporte denied the NPA statement, claiming that it was just the rebels’ way to uplift their morale after two of their comrades died in combat.
On the other hand, Pasaporte said that suspected NPA rebels allegedly launched an attack in Barangay Trinidad on Tuesday, Nov. 1, several meters away from a police detachment to probably divert the attention of the police so that they could respond to it.
He said that police retaliated, and immediately coordinated with the Army. No casualties were reported.