2 soldiers injured in separate clashes in Davao del Sur

DIGOS CITY, Davao del Sur – Two soldiers were injured in separate clashes with communist rebels in Malita, Davao del Sur on Friday, the military reported Saturday.

Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Artuz, commander of the Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion, said the first clash occurred 8:15 a.m. when soldiers were checking the reported presence of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in a remote area of Pangaleon village.

A few hours later, soldiers conducting clearing operations clashed with another band of NPA rebels, he said.

Artuz identified the wounded soldiers as Sergeant Eugenio Alido and Private First Class Michael Leonor.

The wounded soldiers were brought to the military hospital in Panacan in Davao City, he said.

Artuz said additional troops were deployed in Pangaleon to go after the rebels.

The NPA is the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines, a group that had been fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. Recently, negotiations with the CPP-NPA’s leadership restarted after nearly 10 years of lull.