INQUIRER FILES
COTABATO CITY – Military authorities arrested 21 armed men who engaged soldiers in an hour-long gunfight on Thursday afternoon in Aleosan town, Cotabato province.
According to Lt. Col. Edgardo Batinay, commanding officer of the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion, the soldiers were sent to the village of Bagolibas in Aleosan to check on the presence of armed men massing in the area, as reported by civilians.
The heavily armed men were seen on board two multicab vehicles, a pickup vehicle and three motorcycles. They were reportedly led by a certain Commander Montasser and a certain Commander Nasser.
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As the soldiers arrived in the village at about 4 p.m., they were fired upon by the gunmen, Batinay said.
Following the firefight, the soldiers arrested 21 gunmen who yielded high-powered firearms that included five M16 and two M14 rifles, grenades, and various ammunition.
“The suspects were turned over to the local police for appropriate action,” Batinay said.
Two of the armed men, and a soldier, identified as Cpl. Roy Villaber, were injured in the firefight.
“I commend the civilians for quickly alerting authorities about the presence of lawless elements in their community that, in the process, foiled whatever terror plot they had in mind,” said Major General Antonio G. Nafarrete, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.