One of two injured soldiers parry NPA attack in Sipalay City

BACOLOD CITY ,Philippines  - An Army soldier, one of the two who got wounded in an attack, managed to fire back at suspected SPARU (Special Partisan Unit) hitmen of the New People's Army (NPA) and successfully averted their assassination attempt in Brgy. Camindangan Sipalay City Friday.

Colonel Oscar Lactao, 303rd Brigade commander, said the wounded soldiers, Cpl. Juanito Fernando and 1st Lt. Rigor Borja, were in Camindangan with other soldiers for an immersion activity when they were attacked by two assassins- a man and a young woman- along with three others who served as lookouts.

Borja was hit in the back while Fernando, despite a bullet wound in the leg, managed to fire back and hit the assassins, Lactao added.

A civilian and two of the SPARU hitmen, one of whom was a woman, were wounded in the process, said the military report.

The civilian identified as Roderick Samolde was hit in his buttocks when the SPARU assassins opened fire at Borja and Fernando who were inside his house, Lactao said.

Borja, a platoon leader of the Peace and Development Team of the 47th Infantry Battalion, was earlier reported to be in critical condition, but his medical status stabilized after a successful surgery, he added.

Fernando and Samulde were also reported to be in stable condition as of press time, he said.

Fernando's counter-attack prevented the NPA from killing them all, which is a trademark of the SPARU operations, Lactao said, adding that the hitmen's lookouts rescued their wounded comrades and fled from the scene through the public market, just in time other government troops arrived.

Lactao said that "by not sparing a civilian in the liquidation attempt, the NPA showed utter disregard of innocent lives."

The assassination attempt by the NPA was an act of cowardice and must be condemned because the soldiers they attacked were not on actual combat operation, Lactao said.