WOMEN soldiers assist the wounded NPA woman combatant inside a hospital. Troops of the 37th Infantry Battalion found her after a firefight in Barangay Hinalaan, Kalamansig Sultan Kudarat on July 19. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS FROM THE PHILIPPINE ARMY
CAMP SIONGCO, MAGUINDANAO DEL NORTE – Army troopers rescued a New People’s Army (NPA) woman guerilla wounded in a clash with soldiers in Kalamansig town of Sultan Kudarat.
Lt. Colonel John Paul Baldomar, commander of the 37th Infantry Battalion based in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, identified the woman wounded in a clash in Barangay Hinalaan on July 19 as “Alias Charklyn,” 30, political instructor of the platoon Beijing, sub-regional committee Daguma, NPA’s Far South region.
Hinalaan village, where the firefight happened, is situated in the mountains of Kalamansig near the border of the towns of Sen. Ninoy Aquino and Lebak.
Baldomar said the soldiers rescued the wounded combatant, gave her first aid, and brought her to a hospital in Lebak town.
“Our soldiers have been trained to extend humanitarian aid to injured enemies of the state who needed medical attention, so we rushed her to the hospital according to the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law,” Brig. Gen. Michael Santos, commander of 603rd Infantry Brigade, said in a statement.
Major Gen. Alex Rillera, 6th Infantry Division commander, lauded troopers of 37IB and 603rd brigade for their kindness.
“I call on the NPA rebels to lay down guns and live normal lives with your families and loved ones again,” Rillera said.
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