Army rescue unit repulses rebels' attack in Masbate

MANILA, Philippines - An Army disaster team fielded to a flood-stricken community in Masbate came under attack from New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas yesterday morning, the military said.

Maj. Harold Cabunoc, Army spokesman, said the lightly armed soldiers of the 9th Infantry Battalion’s Disaster Response Operations platoon, were able to repulse the NPA assault, killing one of the rebels.

Cabunoc said the troops were on their way to flood-stricken villages in Palanas town when the rebels fired at them before they could reach Barangay Inutusan at around 6:10 a.m. yesterday.

“Our lightly armed troops led by 1Lt. Ronnie Garchitorena and 2Lt. Severato Mazon, were able to repulse the attack after 20 minutes of skirmishes,” Cabunoc said.

Cabunoc said no one was hurt among the members of the Army rescue team while one of the NPA ambushers was killed.

The government troops recovered an M-14 assault rifle and an M-16 rifle at the scene of the encounter.

According to Cabunoc, the NPA rebels were in Inutusan not to help the residents, but to collect food supplies and revolutionary taxes.

Prior to the fighting, the 9th IB’s rescue teams had been mobilized to assist and evacuate local residents in flooded Barangay Inutusan despite intelligence reports that the rebels had plotted an ambush on the responding troops.

“Despite this, the troops, lightly armed, proceeded to the area to conduct search and rescue operations,” Cabunoc said. – With Celso Amo