ILOILO CITY – Three New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were killed in a clash with the 61st Infantry Battalion (IB) in Leon town, Iloilo province on Friday, September 29.
The Army has yet to identify three fatalities.
Soldiers from the 61st IB were in the boundary of Barangays Cagay and Danao responding to complaints from residents that NPA rebels from the Sibat Platoon of the NPA Southern Front Committee in Panay Island were extorting from them.
They chanced upon the communist guerrillas, triggering an encounter that lasted until the rebels withdrew.
Troops recovered two M16 rifles and subversive documents with high intelligence value after the gun battle.
The 3rd Infantry Division (ID) said this was the sixth fire fight this year in that part of Leon. The fifth occurred last September 12.
Meanwhile, the 3rd ID leadership is expecting more clashes as the barangay and SK elections unravel next month.
“There will be no letup in our combat operations. We will pursue the remaining communist NPA rebels until none of them sow violence and threaten the peace in our communities,” said Major Gen. Marion Sison, 3rd ID commander.