BACOLOD CITY – The 303rd Infantry Brigade awarded four government troops wounded in a series of encounters with the New People’s Army in Barangay Pinapugasan, Escalante City, Negros Occidental last week.

COL. Victor Llapitan, deputy brigade commander of the Army 303rd Infantry Brigade, awards a Wounded Personnel Medal to a government trooper wounded in a series of encounters with the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Pinapugasan, Escalante City, Negros Occidental on February 21 and 22. (Photo courtesy of 303rd IBde)
Col. Victor Llapitan, deputy brigade commander, pinned a Wounded Personnel Medal on three soldiers and a member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit Active Auxiliary recovering in a hospital here on Friday, February 23.
They were 2nd Lt. Frenz Jarey Gonzales, Private First Class (PFC) Sandie Cebayle, and PFC Jiezard Mesina of the 79th Infantry Battalion and CAA Eduardo Linogon.
Llapitan said the medal symbolizes the bravery of the soldiers in facing the common enemy – the NPA.
“I salute each and every one of them for their selfless service and dedication in serving the people and protecting the peace in Negros," he said.
The medal was given in recognition of their heroic and exemplary efforts during the conduct of hot pursuit operations that led to a series of clashes with the remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front-D in Sitio Mansulao, Barangay Pinapugasan on February 21 and 22.
Capt. Dan Carlo Samoza, 79th IB civil-military operations (CMO) officer, said on Sunday, February 25, that more than 700 residents displaced in the encounters have returned to their homes.