By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson renewed his appeal to the New People’s Army (NPA) to surrender following an encounter anew which took place at Barangay Carabalan in Negros Occidental’s Himamaylan City on Wednesday, March 1.

The clash ended with four NPA members dead, and many more believed to have been wounded, according to the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (303IBde).

The gun battle also left two soldiers from the 94th Infantry Battalion (94IB) wounded.

Lacson said the NPA should give up the armed struggle, to come down from the mountains and surrender peacefully.

He pledged that the local government would be very willing to help them reintegrate back into society and to provide them with a livelihood they need to restart their lives.

He added that those who surrender will automatically benefit from the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.

Earlier, 303IBde commander Colonel Orlando Edralin said wounded NPA members who will surrender will immediately be sent to the hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Marion Sison of the 3rd Infantry Division said the NPA “suffered a huge debacle” in the recent encounter.

“Expect relentless and intensified military operations in the coming days and weeks,” Sison said.

He added that government forces are determined to protect the residents from the armed group.

“We laud the collaboration of the 94IB with the local populace which resulted in a major setback for the NPA in Negros,” Sison said./DGB, WDJ