120 Luzon-based soldiers deployed to Davao region

JEOFFREY MAITEM/INQUIRER MINDANAO FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — About 120 soldiers from Luzon were deployed to Davao region in Mindanao to augment forces battling communist rebels there.

The 120 new privates from the Army’s 7th Infantry Division based in Nueva Ecija were deployed to Mindanao over the weekend, said 7ID spokesperson Captain Anthony Ruelos. They were transported through a Philippine C-130 cargo plane.

The soldiers were assigned to 69th Infantry Battalion; 71st Infantry Battalion, and 84th Infantry Battalion.

The deployment is “to augment our forces in Mindanao,” Ruelos said.

Davao region is one of the “priority areas” in anti-insurgency operations as a huge number of New People’s Army members are reportedly based there.