Lt. Col. Jess Manangquil, commander of 11th IB, said the one-hour gunbattle resulted in the deaths of three rebels, including a certain Dadoy or Dimas, believed to be a platoon leader of the Larangan Gerilya of the NPA’s Kilusang Rehiyon Negros.
Militiaman Raniel Garces was killed in the firefight in Barangay Villegas, while his colleague Ricardo Salapas was wounded.
Manangquil said they were still verifying the identities of two other rebels confined at the Villegas Memorial Hospital for gunshot wounds.
Villagers said they saw the rebels carrying more bodies as they withdrew from the encounter site located seven kilometers northwest of the Guihulngan town proper.
After the clash, the militiamen found an M-16 rifle, a grenade and a backpack containing the flags of the Communist Party of the Philippines, NPA and the National Democratic Front.
Manangquil said the rebels brought the bodies of two of their slain comrades to a funeral parlor several hours after the encounter.
He said the attack was a desperate move on the part of the NPA to make up for its debacle in its last encounter with the 11th IB in Barangay San Agustin in Isabela, Negros Occidental.
Manangquil added that the attack was also intended to disrupt government operations in suspected strongholds of the CPP-NPA, and to terrorize the residents of Barangay Villegas who are known to be anti-communists.
Meanwhile, Col. Gerry Jalandoni, commander of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, recommended the promotion of detachment leader Renante Samrana.
Garces’ family, on the other hand, would receive burial assistance as well educational assistance for his children, he said. — Antonieta Lopez