BACOLOD CITY—Five Army soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in an encounter with New People’s Army (NPA) rebels on Saturday in a mountain village in Sipalay City, 178 kilometers south of this city.
The soldiers, belonging to the 47th Infantry Battalion, were pursuing rebels who burned down the bunkhouse of Philex Mining Corp. in Sitio Umas, Barangay Camindangan, Sipalay, on Friday night.
They were about 1.5 km away from the bunkhouse at around 7 a.m. when they were attacked by at least 30 rebels coming from the adjacent Sitio Magalaw-alaw, Camindangan.
Col. Rey Banares, 303rd Infantry Brigade deputy commander, confirmed that five of the soldiers were killed but declined to identify them because their families had not been informed yet about their deaths.
Two soldiers were wounded and are in stable condition.
Based on initial reports, the soldiers were pursuing rebels who had burned down the bunkhouse and generator set owned by Philex Mining Corp. on Friday night, also located in Sitio Umas.
Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, acting Negros Occidental police director, said at least 30 communist rebels barged into the Philex Mining compound and ordered the occupants of the bunkhouse to leave before setting it on fire.
This was the second attack by the NPA on Philex Mining Corp. in two years.