Army, NPA clash rages on in Misamis Oriental

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Classes in public elementary schools in two villages in Misamis Oriental were suspended as a firefight between Army soldiers and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels that began Monday continued on Tuesday.

Provincial information officer Nicole Managbanag said they received information from school administrations in Barangays Matampa in Salay town and in Guinalaban in Sugbongcogon that students were advised not to attend classes due to the fighting.

Managbanag said teachers in the two barangay were told by village officials not to hold classes early Tuesday morning.

Gerrymae Pasco, local disaster risk reduction and management officer, said no word has reached their office if residents have moved out of their homes in Matampa and Guinalaban.

“They (villagers) have not evacuated yet as the encounter is still far away but they could already hear gunshots in the distance,” Pasco said.

She said the provincial government has already prepared food packs, stored in a warehouse, in case the people in the two villages evacuate.

Capt. Joe Patrick Martinez, spokesperson of the 4th Infantry Division, earlier said the military launched pursuit operations against the rebels following an encounter on Monday in Barangay Kaulayanan, Sugbongcogon, where a soldier was killed. CBB/rga