Police say NPA guerrilla slain in Sorsogon clash

LEGAZPI CITY—A New People’s Army (NPA) guerrilla was killed early on Thursday (Nov. 19) in a clash with government soldiers at a village in the town of Bulusan, Sorsogon province, the military and police said.

Col. Arturo Brual Jr., Sorsogon police chief, said soldiers from the Army’s 22nd Infantry Battalion and a police team were on patrol at the village of San Jose past 8 a.m. when they clashed with at least 20 NPA guerrillas. The gunfight lasted for at least 40 minutes, Brual said.

The body of the still unidentified guerrilla was left in the clash site.

Soldiers found assault rifles, anti-personnel mines, radio sets and a laptop belonging to the guerrillas after the clash.

Capt. John Paul Belleza, public affairs chief of the Army’s 9th Infantry Division, said the Army’s 31st Infantry Battalion also clashed with NPA guerrillas last Wednesday (Nov. 18) at the village of San Francisco, also in Bulusan.

Belleza said soldiers deployed to San Francisco following complaints by villagers against alleged extortion by armed men in their communities.

Soldiers captured an alleged rebel camp with 10 huts and found three anti-personnel mines, wire, a generator set and personal belongings.

No casualty was reported on the government side in both clashes.

TSB