2 rebels killed, high-powered guns seized in Camarines Sur clash

LEGAZPI CITY — Two suspected communist rebels were killed and 12 high-powered firearms were recovered in an encounter with the government troops in Sagñay town in Camarines Sur province on Monday morning.

Captain John Paul Belleza, Philippine Army’s 9th Infantry Division public affairs chief, said the police and the Army’s 83rd Infantry Battalion had a 30-minute firefight with at least 20 members of the New People’s Army in Barangay Bongalon at around 10:45 a.m.

Authorities recovered two bodies of still unidentified rebels, eight M16 rifles, two M14 rifles, two M653 rifles, bullets, magazines and other personal belongings.

Lieutenant Colonel Clark Dalumbar, the battalion commander, said in a report that their troops checked the area after receiving information about the rebels trying to recruit new members.