By Villamor Visaya, Jr./ Philippine News Agency
TUGUEGARAO CITY – Army soldiers on Wednesday (Sept. 22) found five bodies of suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, who were believed killed in a gunfight on Tuesday (Sept. 21), during the clearing operations in Barangay Dungeg, Sta. Teresita, Cagayan.
Army Maj. Jekyll Dulawan, 5th Infantry Division (5ID) spokesperson, said aside from the bodies, the soldiers also found and recovered three high-powered firearms, three anti-personnel mines, five handheld radios, four mobile phones, assorted medical supplies and equipment, anti-government documents, and personal belongings.
He recalled that soldiers uncovered a rebel hideout where anti-personnel mines were manufactured by the NPA-Komiteng Rehiyon-Cagayan Valley after Tuesday’s firefight.
The Army did not suffer any casualties in the firefight against some 40 communist rebels.
“The accurate information provided by the locals and the timely, precise and well-coordinated actions of the ground troops and the Philippine Air Force led to this decisive engagement against the NPAs without any casualties on the government forces and the civilians,” Dulawan told the Philippine News Agency in a phone interview.
The recovered explosives “clearly shows the NPA’s continuous violation and complete disregard of the International Humanitarian Law particularly the Ottawa Treaty which prohibits the production and use of anti-personnel mines,” he noted.
Maj. Gen. Laurence Mina, 5ID commander, on the other hand, said the division remains steadfast in working with the people and the local government units in ensuring peace and development in its area of responsibility.
“I am once again calling on the remaining communist rebels to lay down their arms and return to the fold of the law. The government is always ready to help you live a new life,” he said.
The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
