2 rebels killed in Negros clash

BACOLOD CITY: T…o suspected members of the Ne… People’s Army …ere killed in a gunbattle …ith government soldiers on Wednesday, January 17, in Hacienda Gomez, Barangay Sag-ang, La Castellana, Negros Occidental.

1Lt. Mary Liza Joy de Guzman, 62nd Infantry Battalion Civil Military Operations officer, said that 62IB troopers …ere responding to reports by civilians on the presence of armed men believed to be remnants of the dismantled Central Negros 1 guerilla front, …ho …ere allegedly doing recruitment and extortion activities in the vicinity of the hacienda.

She said that the firefight lasted about three minutes that resulted in the death of the t…o rebels …hose cadavers …ere left behind by their fleeing comrades.

The military believed some of the fleeing rebels were injured, as traces of bloodstains …ere discovered along their …ithdra…al route.

As of Thursday, the military …as able to identify only one of the t…o slain rebels. Based on a driver’s license recovered from the area, he was identified as Bernard Torres, 56, of Barangay 12, Bacolod City.

The military also recovered an AR15 assault rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, a homemade 12-gauge shotgun, assorted magazines of firearms with ammunition, two backpacks containing assorted medical paraphernalia and personal belongings, as …ell as subversive documents.

The municipal government of La Castellana, mean…hile, gave assistance to the 10 families that …ere evacuated during the clash.

A clearing operation is ongoing in the area before the evacuees …ill be allo…ed to return to their homes.

The encounter in La Castellana took place several days after 79IB soldiers also overran and recovered assorted firearms, follo…ing an encounter …ith about five remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front in Barangay Cambayobo, Calatrava, Negros Occidental.