COTABATO CITY — Four personnel of the Army’s 28th Infantry.
Major Gen. Michele B. Anayron, Jr., commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro City, confirmed on Sunday that four soldiers are now recuperating in a hospital.
Local executives and leaders of indigenous tribes in Bukidnon had told reporters that a group of NPAs provoked the gunfight when they opened fire on the soldiers dispatched to Barangay Hagpa to check on reports by traditional community elders about their presence in the area, collecting money and rice from villagers at gunpoint.
Ms. Anayron said adequate medical support will be provided to the injured 28th IB members.
Chieftains of ethnic groups in Bukidnon province, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, had told reporters that four NPAs, identified only as Ruben, Mario, Ariel and Sandro, were wounded in the incident.
The four wounded NPAs were reportedly seen being carried away by companions as they fled when they sensed that the Army teams that they attacked were about to encircle their location.
Provincial officials and members of the multi-sector Impasug-ong Municipal Peace and Order Council said the guerillas involved in the hostilities are among the few remaining remnants of the NPAs extorting money from hapless residents in far-flung hinterland areas in their municipality. — John Felix M. Unson
