2 soldiers hurt in NPA blast attack

PALAPAG, Northern SAMAR, Philippines — Two soldiers were wounded in an apparent blast attack early evening on Wednesday as government troops were scouring the hinterlands of Bagacay village of this town for a reported presence of an armed group or members of the New People’s Army.

About 16 soldiers of the 20th Infantry Battalion were trailing an unidentified man but, along their patrol course, a planted improvised explosive device blew off, with the shrapnel hitting the two soldiers.

The wounded soldiers were identified as Corporal Donnie Aton, who was hit by the torn PVC canister of the IED, and Private First Class Bingbong Crisologo, who sustained minor lacerations in the forehead due to IED fragments. They were brought to the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital.

Based on the report obtained by The Freeman from Captain Isagani Viernes, chief of the Public Affairs Office of the 8th Infantry Division, the 16 soldiers, led by 2nd Lieutenant Jeffrey Angelo Flores, were on a long range patrol in the mountainous area of Barangay Bagacay after receiving reports from residents that an armed group were seen lingering within the area.

“They were trailing a suspicious individual in the area, and that led them to the group of the rebels who have deliberately planted and blow-off an IED,” said Viernes. A fire fight for about 10 minutes ensued after the blast, but the suspected rebels scampered away.

Village residents told The Freeman that some of them immediately evacuated the area for fear that they might be used as human shields by the escaping rebels. Viernes, however, told them they had nothing to worry about because the soldiers will never mount up an armed pursuit inside the village.

“That is a standing protocol. Once the rebels were able to enter the village, in most cases, they would usually hide their fire arms as they mingle with the residents. In this case, the soldiers clarified that the escape direction of the rebels was not towards the village,” said Viernes.

“The good thing is, most of the residents in the area were cooperative with us, and that the information about the presence of the armed group came from them,” Viernes added.