2 Army officers sacked over Bukidnon attacks

Two Army company commanders were relieved from their respective posts following Tuesday night’s raid of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Valencia City, Bukidnon.

Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, Armed Forces public information chief, did not identify the two Army officers, but said they belong to the 23rd and 26th Infantry Battalions of the 4th Infantry Division.

He said the two junior officers, with the rank of captain, are now being investigated for possible negligence.

Fifty heavily armed NPA rebels attacked an Army detachment in Valencia City Tuesday night, killing a soldier and wounding a militiaman.

The attackers subsequently overran a platoon-sized Army outpost in Sitio Buco, Barangay Banlag in the outskirts of Valencia City and carted away 29 high-powered firearms. — Jaime Laude