TACLOBAN CITY – A soldier from the 78th Infantry (Warrior) Battalion was conferred with the Wounded Personnel Medal (WPM) on Sunday, January 7.
A SOLDIER from the 78th Infantry Battalion was awarded for gallantry in action in an encounter in Borongan City, Eastern Samar.
He was wounded-in-action during an encounter with the Sub-Regional Committee-Sesame, Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee in Barangay San Gabriel, Borongan City, Eastern Samar on Saturday morning, January 6.
"It is with great pride that I commend the tireless efforts of officers and troops of the 78th Infantry Battalion, who have acted immediately to the information given by the locals. The same goes for our wounded personnel injured in this encounter," Army 802nd Infantry Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir said.
Vestuir added that the devotion and sacrifices made by the soldiers to their oath to safeguard fellow Filipinos and the country are beyond measure.
The encounter resulted to the death of Martin Colima, alias “Maki,” “Seloy,” “Badong,” and “Antos,” secretary of the Sub-Regional Committee-Sesame, Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/6/npa-leader-in-samar-killed-in-gunbattle
Recovered in the encounter site were a caliber .45 pistol and seven backpacks.
Colima's group is known to operate in the tri-boundaries of Pinabacdao, Calbiga, and Basey, all in Samar, and Eastern Samar province.
He is the alleged mastermind and one of the perpetrators of the ambush in Barangay Libuton, Borongan on December 13, 2019, in which a policeman and three civilians were killed and 12 persons, including three minors, were wounded.