3 ‘rebels’ dead in Mindoro clash

SAN PEDRO CITY –– The military on Friday said three suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in a clash in Mansalay town in Oriental Mindoro province.

As of Friday, government soldiers were pursuing around “40 rebels” who escaped after authorities ran into an alleged rebel training ground in Sitio Mawan in Barangay Panaytayan around 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Army’s 2nd Infantry Division spokesperson Capt. Patrick Jay Retumban, in a phone interview, said it was also believed that an NPA commander died as the rebels retreated.

He said the “intelligence community” was still ascertaining the identity of the commander.

According to the Army’s report, the soldiers were tipped off about the supposed “training” of NPA recruits in the area.

Brigadier General Marceliano Teofilo, commander of the Army’s 203rd Infantry Brigade in Mindoro, said the military was able to locate the training site, resulting in the clash.

One soldier was slightly hurt in his ear and is now out of danger.

The identities of the three fatalities were not immediately available. Retumban said their remains had been airlifted as of Friday.

The government troops said they recovered three M16 rifles, an AK-47, a .45-caliber gun, blasting caps and improvised explosives, which the rebels left behind after the clash. (Editor: Leti Z. Boniol)