NPA denies it lost a member in Or. Mindoro clash
Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro (Google maps)
CITY OF CALAPAN — The New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindoro under the Lucio De Guzman Command has condemned the Army’s reported killing of an alleged NPA member in an encounter on May 21.
Ka Madaay Gasic, spokesperson of Lucio De Guzman Command Sub-regional Operations Command-Mindoro Island NPA-Southern Tagalog, said in a text message on May 23 that the soldiers of the 4th Infantry Battalion killed a civilian, not an NPA, in a “misencounter.”
On May 21, the military reported that they killed an NPA in an encounter, around 5:30 a.m. in Bulalacao, southernmost town in Oriental Mindoro.
Gasic added that Mario Versosa was killed by the Army during the “misencounter” in Sitio (sub-village) If-if, Barangay (village) Cambunang, Bulalacao. He said Versosa was a police asset and a resident of Barangay Purnaga, Magsaysay town, Occidental Mindoro.
Gasic said residents believe that Versosa visited a relative residing in the town. SFM
