Government forces encountered about 10 suspected rebels at Sitio Hanot, Barangay Inayawan, Cauayan, Negros Occidental, on Thursday, July 14.
The state troopers received a report from residents regarding the presence of members of the New People’s Army. This resulted to a 10-minute encounter.
No casualty was reported on the government’s side, while blood stains were seen on the withdrawal route of the rebels.
Recovered from the encounter site were a homemade grenade, .45 caliber pistol with magazine, anti-personnel mine paraphernalia, 50-meter long electric wire, three cellphones, chargers, four backpacks, medicines, food packs, personal belongings, and subversive documents.
Since January there have been 25 encounters with the rebels within the area of jurisdiction of the 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division, with 76 NPA members killed and 44 firearms seized.
Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, 3ID commander, lauded the local populace for giving timely information to the troops.
“The willingness of the local populace in helping the soldiers by giving noteworthy information on the whereabouts of these NPA terrorists is a great help to our continuous campaign to end local communist armed conflict in Negros Island,” he added.*