Bohol Encounter Left With One Soldier, One Alleged Rebel Dead
BOHOL – A gunfight in Bilar, Bohol that occurred on February 29, 2020, has left with one soldier and one alleged rebel dead.
According to SunStar, the soldier was a member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), while the other was allegedly a member of the New People’s Army (NPA).
First Lt. Elma Grace Remonde, 47th Infantry Battalion (IB) civil military officer, said that this was their third gunfight with armed men.
Remonde added that this is the first time to have casualties since the province was declared insurgency-free in 2010.
“It was a joint operation between the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP). The encounter happened at 9:40 a.m. in Barangay Cansumbol with about 15 suspected rebels and our troops,”
The officer added that they fired first at the troops who were initiating hot pursuit operations. The gunfight lasted at about 30 minutes.
The fatalities were identified as Private First Class Jerald Villanueva, aged 26, of Purok 8, Barangay Upper Dansuli, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat; and Marcelo Tejero Maldos, aged 55, of Cantumocad, Loon, Bohol.
Malidos was identified via his voter;s ID that was found at the scene. After the gunfight, the insurgents fled in different directions, leaving their dead behind.
The military enhanced their troops for the hot pursuit.
Recovered from the gunfight were two .38 revolvers, a .357 Magnum and several ammunition and subversive documents.
As per the report, 47th IB Bohol-based commander Lt. Allan Tabudlo said that there is a coordination with the AFP, the PNP and the local government unit of Bilar.
“We ought to protect the people and do what we must. What happened today is evidence that the network we have built remains strong against these people. We are doing our best to capture these savages,”
Tabudlo added that they honored Villanueva, who put his life on the line.
Police Regional Office 7 director Police Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro said that the comunist terrorist group has been attempting to return to the province.
“Bohol has always been a target for recovery by the CTG after it was successfully cleared of the group’s presence in the mid-2000s. Ever since then, government security forces were always on the lookout for the CTG to make sure that Bohol remains peaceful and free from the enemy. The recent encounter, to include the discovery of an encampment late last year, only shows that their attempt to recover Bohol will never prosper,”
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