INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Three suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in San Joaquin, Iloilo early Wednesday morning in what seemed to be a challenging encounter for the government troops who had to use its new artillery system against the rebels.
Brig Gen. Michael Samson, Commander of the 301st Brigade, told reporters in a phone interview that the suspected NPA rebels were killed along the boundary of Barangays Lomboyan and Torocadan of the said town after a 20-minute firefight which began at around 3:20 a.m.
Troops from the 301st Brigade launched a focused military operation against the area when around 20 suspected NPA members fired upon them, which prompted them to ask for reinforcements.
“Along the way, the operating troops were fired upon,” Samson said.
“Assessing that the troops were in a disadvantaged position, the troops requested fire support,” he added.
Samson said the brigade provided artillery fire support through its Israeli-made Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer System 155mm self-propelled guns as ground troops approached the rebel camp, while surveillance planes were also monitoring to ensure the accuracy of their target.
The soldiers conducted the operation to prevent the suspected rebels from conducting tactical offensives or ambush attacks against government forces, according to Samson.
Meanwhile, government troops retrieved four M16 rifles, and one AK47 rifle.
The encounter occurred amid ongoing talks to resume the peace negotiations between communist insurgents and the Philippine government.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will continue law enforcement operations despite the agreement between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Philippine government to come up with a framework to restart the peace talks last year.
As of December 2023, the NPA is now down to about 1,500 fighters, far from its peak of around 25,000 in 1987, according to AFP.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Magareth Padilla said on Tuesday that a total of 19 NPA members were killed from Jan. 1 to Feb. 22.