1 soldier dead, 2 hurt in Quezon clash; NPA: Villagers warned us of attack

Infanta town in Quezon (Wikipedia maps)

LUCENA CITY, Quezon — An Army soldier was killed while two others were wounded in an encounter with communist rebels in Infanta town in Quezon province on Monday morning, a spokesman for the New People’s Army said.

In a statement, Armando “Ka Mando” Jacinto, spokesperson of the NPA Rosario Lodronio Rosal Command operating in the Sierra Madre mountain ranges, said soldiers from the Army’s 1st Infantry Battalion, attacked a band of NPA rebels in Barangay Magsaysay.

But he said the ensuing firefight killed an Army soldier and wounded two others.

“They tried to enter the resting place of the NPA troops but the people in the area immediately warned the rebels of the impending attack, giving them ample time to prepare for battle,” Jacinto said.

He said the NPA did not suffer any casualty during the 30-minute clash that started at 10:30 a.m.

Maj. Gen. Rhoderick Parayno, commander of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division (ID) operating in Southern Tagalog, confirmed the death of the soldier and the wounding of two others.

“But according to residents near the battle site, the NPA rebels
carried several of their wounded comrades during their escape,”
Parayno said.

Lt. Colonel Christopher Tampus, 1st IB commander, said the soldiers were in the area to check on complaints of villagers about supposed rebel abuse.

“We’ve been receiving complaints involving extortion and abuse against the civilians,” he said.

He said the area occupied by the rebels was a National Greening Program site managed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Tampus said NPA rebels burned the reforested area and planted improvised bombs there.  SFM