Four fighters of the Central Negros 1 (CN1) Front of the Communist New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in an encounter with government troopers in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental on Sunday. Lt. Col. William Pesase, the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion (62IB) commanding officer, told the Philippine News Agency in an interview that the four were among the heavily armed rebels who clashed with his men in Sitio Cambawgon, Barangay Trinidad before daybreak. Pesase said the Trinidad encounter was a result of pursuit operations following another clash with the NPA in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental on Saturday where five other rebels were killed. A cache of high-powered firearms, short arms, and other war materiel were likewise recovered by Army troops. One NPA member surrendered to authorities. Local police, Scene of Crime Operatives, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office personnel, and soldiers were on the way to retrieve the cadavers of the deceased rebels as of press time. No other details were made available yet due to poor network connectivity.

Source: Philippines News Agency