On board the truck were elements of the 63rd Infantry Battalion based in Urdaneta, Lavezares, Northern Samar.
In a report reaching the Army’s 8th Infantry Division by the 803rd Brigade, it said that the troops on board just came from an administrative mission in Eastern Samar and were on their way back to their detachment in Northern Samar.
The Army truck was traversing the national highway between Barangay Tinaplacan and Barangay Bugtong when unidentified armed men fired from both sides of the road forcing the vehicle to stop and the soldiers to take cover.
Calbayog City police disclosed that a group of unidentified fully armed men believed to be members of the NPAs operating in the coastal barangays of Calbayog were on board a passenger jeepney coming from Northern Samar when it suddenly attacked the house of a certain PO1 Alvaro Palacio in Barangay Bugtong, Tinambacan District.
The alleged NPAs, who were fully armed with high-powered guns, surrounded the house of Palacio, held hostage his wife Delia Calimbo and his father-in-law and brought with them the M-16 Armalite rifle issued to Palacio, six long magazines of an M-16 rifle, seven short magazines and three long plastic magazines of M-16 rifle fully loaded with ammunitions.
At about this time a group of Army Scout Rangers assigned at the 63rd IB on board a military truck was bound for Northern Samar coming from Eastern Samar when they were ambushed by the NPA blocking force killing the sergeant and wounding the driver.
The assailants were seen to have withdrawn toward the southeast direction of the area while the 803rd Brigade is now conducting hot pursuit operations against them.
Follow-up investigation on the incident revealed that it may not have been an ambush but an encounter as the exchange of fire lasted for about 10 minutes.
The total number of soldiers on board the military vehicle and the name of the soldier who died has not yet been disclosed by the Army to media to protect the victim’s family. — Miriam Garcia Desacada