By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

A new gun battle has erupted between elements of the Philippine Army’s 94th Infantry Battalion (94IB) and the New People’s Army (NPA) at Barangay Carabalan in Negros Occidental’s Himamaylan City, which displaced 83 families yesterday morning.

Lt. Colonel Van Donald Almonte, 94IB commander, said they sent their troops to the area in response to a resident’s complaint of NPA’s constant extortion activities asking for food and supplies from the local populace.

In a video sent by a local vlogger, intense 20-minute gunfire and several loud explosions can be heard at the encounter site.

Almonte said the clash began around 6:00 a.m. at the village’s Sitio Florent.

“This encounter demonstrates the commitment of the 94IB to protect and serve the people of Himamaylan,” Almonte said in a statement.

They believe the NPA members they encountered were from Central Negros Front 2, he added.

As of press time, combat operations are still taking place in the area.

The Army has yet to identify the wounded government trooper confined in a hospital in Kabankalan.

Meanwhile, at least 83 families or 351 individuals in sitios Canagbaan, Da-at, Florete, and Cabalungan in Carabalan have evacuated and presently take shelter at the village’s multi-purpose gym.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development provided food packs for the displaced families.

The encounter affected more than 5,000 individuals in Carabalan and three adjacent villages, and one in neighboring Binalbagan town.

“We ask for fervent prayers for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Carabalan,” Kabankalan Mayor Rogelio Raymund Tongson said in a Facebook post.

The encounter site is the same area where a weeklong gun battle ensued last year, which resulted in the death of Romeo Nanta, also known as Ka Juanito Magbanua, a top NPA leader in Negros./DGB, WDJ