Army-NPA clashes force Negros folk to flee homes

BACOLOD CITY – Armed clashes between government troopers and communist rebels in the northern town of Calatrava in Negros Occidental forced thousands of villagers to flee their homes.

In a report, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office said 586 families in the upland barangays of Laga-an, Macasilao and Menchaca in Calatrava, 129 kilometers north of this capital city, have evacuated since Monday due to renewed hostilities that have so far left two rebel amazons dead and two soldiers wounded.

The provincial government has dispatched DSWD personnel to assist and extend help to almost 3,000 evacuees, who are now staying at the Calatrava poblacion (town proper).

Local Army spokesman Maj. Nathaniel Villasor, however, allayed the residents’ fears of being caught in the crossfire.

“Our soldiers are strictly observing the rules of engagement and they are not firing their weapons indiscriminately, contrary to the claims of the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) legal fronts,” he said.

Soldiers pursuing the fleeing rebels recovered two grenades, two backpacks containing personal belongings and a medicine kit in Barangay Macasilao.

Villasor said the two soldiers wounded in an ambush in Barangay Laga-an last Monday are now in stable condition.

Karapatan-Negros and its allied organizations accused the military of killing Alano Clerigo, a member of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, who was picked up from his residence in Barangay Menchaca, Calatrava last Oct. 10.

Senior Superintendent Rosendo Franco, provincial police director, asked Clerigo’s family to coordinate with the Calatrava police in filing charges against the suspects.