BACOLOD CITY – Classes were suspended and 172 families or 779 individuals were evacuated due to a series of clashes in Barangay Pinapugasan, Escalante City, Negros Occidental on February 21 and 22.

The 79th Infantry Battalion said 28 families or 112 individuals fled Barangay Binaguiohan and 78 families composed of 302 individuals left Barangay Pinapugasan. They are temporarily sheltered at the Binaguiohan Elementary School and Pinapugasan National High School.

GOVERNMENT forces distribute food packs to families displaced by armed conflict in Barangay Pinapugasan, Escalante City, Negros Occidental on February 21 and 22. (Photo courtesy of Escalante City Police Station Facebook)

Sixty-six families or 365 individuals were also displaced in Barangay San Isidro, Toboso, Negros Occidental and are temporarily staying at the San Isidro Elementary School since the area of the clashes is situated in the boundary of the two localities.

The local governments of Toboso and Escalante have provided food packs to affected households.

The 79th IB said that eight encounters with remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front (NNF-D) occurred in Barangay Pinapugasan in two days. Three New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were killed and three soldiers and a militiaman were injured.

Escalante Mayor Melecio Yap Jr. suspended classes for elementary, junior, and senior high school in Barangays Libertad, Pinapugasan, Binaguiohan, Paitan, Dian-ay, Magsaysay, Malasibog, and Tamlang effective Friday, February 23, until further notice. Yap advised residents to be vigilant and be safe.

The local government of Toboso also cancelled classes on all levels in public and private day-care centers and schools effective February 23 until the revocation of the executive order to ensure the safety of learners, students, and school personnel from the ongoing armed conflict.

An executive order issued and signed by Mayor Madonnah Jaojoco on February 22 stated that since the start of the year up to the present, there has been a series of killings subsequently admitted by the NPA and encounters with communist rebels within the territorial jurisdiction of the municipality.

Jaojoco said the Peace and Order Council of the town convened for a special meeting on February 22 and discussed the series of killings and encounters, and it was concluded that there is a pressing threat from the NPA.

These encounters broke out when the military acted on information from the community about the presence of an armed group conducting extortion activities in the area.

Capt. Dan Carlo Samoza, 79th IB civil-military operations officer, said they are currently conducting clearing operations in the area.