CLARK FREEPORT – Army troopers clashed with and pushed back armed members of the New People’s Army (NPA) over the weekend in remote Sitio Dibulod in Dicamay Dos in Jones, Isabela, even as members of the insurgent group in neighboring Ifugao province surrendered to the government.
The Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) based in Camp Aquino, Tarlac, said the clash started last Saturday in mountainous Barangay Sto. Domingo in Jones between soldiers from the 86th Infantry Battalion, the 502ndBrigade, and the 5th Infantry Division and about 10 NPA rebels.
The firefight pushed the NPA members to Dicamay 2 where the soldiers discovered and the took over the rebels’ camp where they found three cooking fireplaces and fresh vegetables.
Nolcom reported no casualties on the government side and claimed several casualties on the side of the NPA, although it did not say whether any body of the rebels were found. Nolcom said that in the province of Ifugao, 14 members of the NPA’s “Milisyang Bayan” and six NPA supporters surrendered to the military in Sitio Nakatengey, Barangay Namal in Asipulo town.
One of the surrenderees also turned over to the soldiers an M16 rifle, Nolcom noted.
“The surrender was made possible through the efforts and initiatives of Community Support Program operators of the Army unit deployed in the area,” Nolcom added.
Nolcom stressed that its units “will sustain its Focus Military Operations to address the armed threat groups, as well as the efforts in engaging the local government units and other stakeholders as partners in attaining peace and development in the region.”
