Rebel slain, soldier hurt in clash in Misamis Oriental hinterlands

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY –– A communist guerrilla was killed while a soldier was wounded in a clash on top of a dormant volcano in Misamis Oriental late Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Roy Derilo, commander of the Army 58th Infantry Battalion, said the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were already surrounded by soldiers and were asked to lay down their arms.

Instead of giving up, the guerrillas fought on, added Derilo.

“My team leader told me he saw the rebels jump into a nearby ravine while firing their guns,” Derilo further said.

Derilo said the soldiers were tracking the rebels after a brief encounter three days earlier.

On Tuesday afternoon, a 10-man Army team managed to sneak near the rebels’ refuge in the 1,245-meter high Mount Obulan in Barangay Banglay of Lagonglong town.

When the Army team leader called out for the rebels’ surrender, they instead responded with gunfires, Derilo said.

The ensuing 30-minute firefight resulted in the death of an NPA fighter and a soldier slightly wounded when a bullet grazed his right arm.

Derilo said the rebel’s body was turned over to Lagonglong officials for burial.

Derilo added that when the rebel camp was scoured, the soldiers seized two M653 rifles; one M16 rifle; one AK47 assault rifle; one Garand rifle; one cal. 22 rifle, and assorted ammunition.

In Zamboanga del Norte, a soldier was killed in a 20-minute clash in Leon B. Postigo town last Sunday.

Major Arvin John Encinas, Western Mindanao Command spokesperson, identified the casualty as Private Alfie Ogao-ogao, who was fresh from training. With a report from Julie S. Alipala