Rebel killed in Albay clash

LEGAZPI CITY ,Philippines  – A rebel was killed when Army personnel and over 20 members of the New People’s Army engaged in a 15-minute firefight in the mountainous portion of Sitio Maigang in Barangay Tablon, Oas, Albay over the weekend, a military official said. 

Maj. Narsan Obuyes, 2nd Infantry Battalion spokesman, said the slain rebel was turned over to the Oas police for identification by his relatives. 

Obuyes said the soldiers recovered an M-16 rifle, a garand rifle, a carbine, a laptop computer and other personal belongings.

“We also saw big cooking tools and kitchen utensils and a sack and a half of rice in their camp, which suggests that they stayed in the camp for a number of days already,” he said. 

The official said the rebels could have been forced to leave the nearby Guinobatan town when the Army put up a detachment.