By CESAR JOLITO III

All personnel of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion in the Negros Island Region (RMFB-NIR) involved in an armed encounter with alleged members of the communist terrorist group (CTG) in Negros Occidental’s Calatrava town yesterday afternoon, have been accounted for and are safe, the Police Regional Office (PRO) in NIR said.

Based on an initial report, members of the 1st Platoon, 2nd Maneuver Company of RMFB-NIR allegedly engaged suspected CTG members in Barangay Lalong’s Sitio Kabalagnan, while providing security assistance to the municipal local government operations officer.

A quick response team from the 2nd Maneuver Company was immediately deployed to the area and successfully extracted the operating team.

Authorities later conducted scouring operations at the encounter site and recovered broken pieces of a 5.56-caliber rifle, which are now undergoing further examination and documentation as part of the ongoing investigation.

RMFB-NIR also coordinated with the Calatrava police and Bravo Company of the 79th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, stationed in Barangay Tigbon, to reinforce security measures and sustain pursuit and monitoring operations.

Additional maneuver companies were placed on standby for possible deployment, while a Scout Platoon from Bravo Company and a team from the 2nd Maneuver Company were sent to secure the area.

PRO-NIR reported that no injuries or casualties were recorded among government forces during the encounter.

The police regional office assured the public that appropriate operational and investigative measures are being carried out in coordination with partner security forces as of press time./CCJ, WDJ