BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya ,Philippines – A ranking leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) were reportedly among the four fatalities in last Thursday’s encounter with government troops in a remote Cagayan village.
Lt. Col. Alvin Flores, chief of the Army’s 17th Infantry Battalion, identified the slain communist leader as Dominador Javier, head of the NPA’s Cagayan East Central Committee.
Also killed in the firefight in San Miguel village in Baggao town were Clariss Santa Maria and a certain Julius and Ka Epi.
The firefight, which broke out early Thursday morning, also resulted in the capture of two insurgents identified as Bernardo Pardian and Nerisa Pattung Javier.
Three civilians, Arnold Pasion, Alexander Dorado and Arnolito Dorado, were hit in the crossfire after the guerrillas reportedly used them as human shield during the fire-hour firefight. The Army said they are now in stable condition.
Reports said the firefight broke out after government troops, while responding to a tip-off about the presence of an armed group in the area, chanced upon the NPA guerrillas along the way.
Among the items recovered at the encounter site were two M-16 Armalite rifles, a shotgun, a generator set, a laptop and computer printer, a cellular phone, and subversive documents.
– With Raymund Catindig