By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

At least one soldier was slightly wounded after members of the Philippine Army 62nd Infantry Battalion (62IB) recently engaged in a gun battle with New People’s Army (NPA) rebels at Sitio Santos-santos, located in Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla.

Authorities identified the wounded soldier as Corporal Ryan Quevedo.

Philippine Army 303rd Infantry Brigade (303IB) commander, Brigadier General Benedict Arevalo, said the 62IB were conducting hot pursuit operations against the rebels responsible for the murder of Moises Padilla Municipal Councilor Jolomar Hilario.

He said the clash took place around 9:20 a.m. when the 62IB encountered around 20 NPA rebels.

The general believes the rebels were part of the NPA Central Negros Front.

The fight lasted for about an hour before the NPA were forced to retreat.

As of press time, the army is still conducting clearing operations at the encounter site.

Soldiers recovered several units of ammunition, explosives, and personal belongings of the rebels from the encounter site.

The 303IB commander also believes the rebels suffered casualties as there were “blood trails” spotted in the area previously held by the rebels during the battle.

He also confirmed around 600 local residents were evacuated, along with a nearby school forced to cancel graduation ceremonies due to the incident.

Arevalo added, Hilario’s murder may have been a retaliation after the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police arrested National Democratic Front spokesperson Ka Frank Fernandez last week in Laguna./DGB, WDJ