State troopers who were scouring the area in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental where the clash between the soldiers and rebels recently ensued found boxes of contraceptive pills.
Col. Michael Samson, acting commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, said in a press statement Sunday, April 4, that boxes of anti-pregnancy pills were found along with the personal belongings of the rebels who scampered away following the encounter, which killed 10 members of the New People’s Army.
“The recovery of these anti-pregnancy pills seems to confirm the existence of sexual exploitation of female combatants in the ranks of the NPAs as previously revealed by those who have surrendered,” the army official claimed.
The encounter also led to the arrest of one rebel and the recovery of 11 high-powered firearms.*