In a long-distance phone interview from the site of the encounter, Army Lt. Col. Elmer Quiros, commanding officer of the Army’s 80th Infantry Battalion, said his men clashed with at least 13 heavily armed rebels in Sitio Calamintao in Sta. Cruz town at about 4:50 a.m.
"We still have to get the full identity of the slain NPA guerrilla," Quiros said.
"He could be an NPA commander because he bore an M203 grenade launcher on his M-16 assault rifle," he said.
Quiros said NPA commanders usually carry that kind of weapon.
The firefight lasted only for six minutes. The insurgents fled after seeing one of their comrades get hit. — Artemio Dumlao