Two Wounded Red Rebels Treated by Army Soldiers
in Sorsogon
BARCELONA, Sorsogon - Two wounded NPA rebels were evacuated by
government troops to a local hospital after a clash in a hinterland
village in Sorsogon, a military official said today, December 7, 2010.
LtCol Santiago Enginco, Commanding Officer of the 49th Infantry
Battalion based in Sorsogon said that the two rebels were injured in an
encounter with more or less 10 rebels in San Isidro village in Barcelona
town at around 5:30am today.
Enginco identified the duo as Nelson Punilas a.k.a. Ka Juvy and a
certain Ka Alvin.
1st Lieutenant Sandy Sereno, the Commanding Officer of the Bravo Company
of the said battalion who led the operating troops, said that the
encounter was a result of a tip-off from a resident in the village.
"I received a text message from a concerned resident of San Isidro
village that they were forced out of their homes by heavily armed rebels
at around 7:00pm last night. This prompted me to meet him to pinpoint
the location of the house where the rebels have encamped for the night,"
said Sereno.
Sereno and fourteen of his men, guided by the civilian tipster,
proceeded to the area to arrest the rebels. They arrived in the vicinity
of the house at around 5:00 am.
"I awakened the rebels and persuaded them to surrender because we had
practically surrounded them. We received no reply but gunfires from
inside the house, prompting us to return fire," said Sereno in a phone
call to Major Harold Cabunoc.
Two rebels lay dead while two others were wounded after the 10-minute
clash. The wounded rebels were given first-aid treatment by the medical
aidman soldier. No one was harmed among the soldiers.
One captured rebel who was unscathed in the firefight was identified by
his wounded comrades as Jason Brual a.k.a. Ka Butch, the new Commander
of the Front Committee 79 of the bandit group operating in Sorsogon
province.
The two dead rebels were identified as a certain Ka Roma and Ka Joshua.
They were brought to a local police station in Barcelon town for
autopsy.
Enginco said that his troops are now pursuing the fleeing bandits
following the trail of blood along their escape route.
Major General Ruperto Pabustan, Commander of the 9th Infantry Division
has directed the 49th Infantry Battalion to ensure the proper treatment
of the captured rebels in line with the Army's advocacy of human rights
protection.
"Once again, we are showing that our soldiers are not after for more
body counts. We believe that we can give peace a chance by allowing the
rebels to peacefully surrender; however, they have initiated the
exchange of gunfire resulting to the death of some of their comrades,"
said Pabustan.
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