2 soldiers on medical mission slain in ambush

SOLANO, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – Two soldiers on their way to a medical-dental mission in a remote village in Balbalan, Kalinga were killed in an ambush by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels Saturday night.

Slain were Cpl. Jeffrey de los Santos and Pfc. Micholle Alipio, both belonging to the 1st medical platoon of the 501st Infantry Brigade of the Isabela-based 5th Infantry Division.

A number of rebels were wounded in the ensuing firefight, the military said.

In a related development, elements of the Army’s 9th Infantry Battalion recovered an NPA arms cache in Milagros, Masbate yesterday morning.

Lt. Col. Julian Pacatan, commanding officer of the 9th IB, said his men were conducting a feeding program in Milagros town when they got reports that a group of NPA guerrillas were extorting money from the villagers.

Pacatan said he immediately dispatched a 15-man team led by 2Lt. Francis Alfie Tuazon to check the report.

As the soldiers approached the village, the rebels opened fire, triggering a firefight, after which an M-16 rifle, an M653 rifle, two caliber .38 revolvers, 25 improvised explosives, a rifle grenade, binocular, cellular phone, and subversive documents were recovered from the scene. – Raymund Catindig, Charlie Lagasca, Celso Amo, Artemio Dumlao