ILIGAN CITY –– A soldier belonging to the Army’s 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion was wounded during a clash with suspected New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas on Wednesday in the city hinterlands.
Lt. Col. Domingo Dulay, Army battalion commander, said the 30-minute gunfight occurred in Sitio Pudog of Barangay Mainit.
The troops were sent to Mainit on a tip by residents that several armed men were roaming in the village, collecting food and money, Dulay added.
He disclosed that the unnamed soldier is now in stable condition in a city hospital.
The rebels might have suffered from lack of food, hence their recent activities in the village, said Dulay.
In 2019, the barangay council of Mainit passed a resolution denouncing the NPA presence in their village.
Brigadier General Facundo Palafox IV, commander of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, called on the guerrillas to give up their arms and work to improve their lives peacefully.