Rebel camp seized; 3 killed, 2 injured

BACOLOD CITY — A suspected New People‘s Army (NPA) training camp in Guihulngan town in Negros Oriental was seized by government troops. Two rebels and an Army soldier were killed in the encounter whie two other soldiers were wounded during the gun battle.

SSgt. Renato Aguilar was killed while his two wounded colleagues were identified as Pvt. Wilbert Juanga and Pfc. Melchor Yunting, all members of the 11th Infantry Batallion Bravo Company.Meanwhile, only one of the two rebels was identified. The casualty was said to be Dominador Justiniani, a resident of Calatrava, Negros Occidental.

The discovery and seizure of the rebel camp came after the military stepped up military operations following reports of the communist guerrillas’ plans to attack the headquaters of an Army engineering unit stationed in Guihulngan town.

The armed skirmishes took place early in the morning of June 12 when a group of soldiers was dispatched to verify reports of the presence of armed men in Barangay Tacpao, about 116.5 kilometers north of Dumaguete City.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sodusta, commanding general of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said the estimated 40 NPA guerrillas were found to have been planning to raid the headquarters of the Alpha Company of the 542nd Engeering Construction Battalion stationed in the town.