Troops offer NPA evacuation help

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The military has offered the New People’s Army assistance to evacuate the latter's wounded fighters into hospitals following Monday’s fierce five-hour running firefights in three adjoining districts in Magpet, North Cotabato.

Dozens of villagers fleeing from the scene said at least 30 of the 200 or so NPAs that harassed their villages and now subject of a government counter-offensive were injured when soldiers pounded the rebels' positions with 105 Howitzer cannons and 81 MM mortars to drive them away.

Col. Ademar Tomaro, commanding officer of the Army’s 602nd Brigade, which has jurisdiction over Magpet and surrounding towns, said wounded NPAs that need medical assistance can coordinate with barangay officials or with the local government unit in the municipality.

Combatants from different units of the 6th Infantry Division - the 7th, 40th, 57th Infantry Battalions, members of the 6th ID's Reconnaissance Contingent, and the Army’s elite Special Forces -- have fused ranks and are now driving away the NPAs from Magpet using heavy firepower. 

Tomaro said that while they still have no actual body counts of NPA casualties, there are villagers claiming to have witnessed fleeing rebels carrying dead and wounded companions.

A member of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit, Daniel Masang, was killed by a rebel sniper while distributing ammunition to soldiers while trading shots with NPAs at the height of Monday’s encounters in Magpet, the eleventh in the area in two weeks.

Tomaro said  soldiers shelled with 105 Howitzer cannons the positions of the rebels to flush the latter out and prevent them from getting close to populated areas.

Tomaro said wounded NPAs can be extricated from Magpet by coordinating with  barangay and municipal government officials.

“While we are on different sides of the fence, we are all Filipinos. We can help bring them to hospitals and guarantee them safety while undergoing medication,” Tomaro said.

Witnesses said at least eight of the NPAs wounded in Monday’s encounters were adolescents.

The military stepped up its anti-operations in Magpet and nearby towns last week due to mounting complaints by villagers on the NPAs taxation activities.

Soldiers overran three NPA enclaves in the area last week, two of them with overhead bunkers and makeshift fortifications the rebels abandoned in haste after sensing that Army combatants have started closing in.

Major Gen, Ronnie Ordoyo, commanding officer of 6th ID, said apart from forcing them to shell out protection money, NPAs have also been collecting food from villagers.

“These activities are all against the principles of International Humanitarian Laws,” Ordoyo said.