DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental — Members of the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police arrested six suspected members, including one female and two minors, of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Barangay Luyang, Mabinay town in Negros Oriental early Saturday.
Initial reports said government troops encountered about 20 armed men believed to be members of the Regional Security Force of the Komiteng Rehiyon Negros (RSF-KRN) of the CPP-NPA in Sitio Tumunon at 2:45 a.m.
The firefight lasted for about 45 minutes but no one got hurt on both sides.
The female suspect is a 21-year-old Mass Communication graduate of the University of the Philippines in Cebu, said Brig. Gen. Eliezer Losañes, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army in Negros Island.
The two apprehended minors were reportedly recruited from Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.
The names of those arrested are being withheld pending investigation.
The six suspected NPA members were already presented to the Mabinay prosecutor’s office for inquest.
Recovered from the suspects were high-powered firearms, among them one M16A1, one M16A1 attached with M203 Grenade launcher, two M4 Rifles, one VLTOR (M16), one AG 43 (M16), rifle grenades, explosives, other war materiel, foodstuff, and alleged subversive documents.
The encounter took place after months of reported sightings of armed men in the hinterlands of Bindoy, Ayungon, Mabinay and nearby areas.
The civilians reported about armed men allegedly asking food and other provisions while others had reportedly fled their villages out of fear.
Losañes, in an interview, said that sometime in the middle of last year, “we had already monitored the movement of the Regional Security Force of the Komiteng Rehiyong Negros, shifting from the 6th district of Negros Occidental to the areas of BATMAN,” referring to the acronym for the towns of Bindoy, Ayungon, Tayasan, and Manjuyod in Negros Oriental.
This is their expansion area, and what the Army calls the “guerilla zone preparation”, and so they are going to expand, “hoping that they can create another front”, he added.
The 62nd IB also reported that before Saturday’s encounter, troops on regular security patrol discovered alleged NPA encampments in Samac, Mabinay and Panciao, Manjuyod.
The suspects are under the custody of the Philippine Army for further disposition, although according to Sr. Supt. Edwin Portento, the police will take over and secure their detention.
He, however, did not disclose where they would be detained.
Charges stemming from the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and explosives will be filed against them, Portento said. (PNA)
