In a report on Wednesday, 4th ID spokesman Major Francisco Garello said that 1st Special Forces Battalion operating in Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur boundaries engaged 50 fully armed members of the NPA combatants in a three-hour firefight in Barangay Ranao Ibaning,Amai Manabilang, Lanao del Sur at around 6:30 a.m.
No casualties were reported on the government side. Recovered from the place of incident are the following: 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun, 5.56mm M4 rifle, 5.56mm M16 rifle, 7.62mm M14 rifle, and a 30 M1 Garand rifle.
Brigadier General Ferdinand Barandon, the commander of 403rd Infantry Brigade said that through their no let-up policy, they have been tracking down the said CPP-NPA terrorists as they crossed over to Lanao del Sur province.
The communists terrorists in Bukidnon had suffered devastating losses in a series of encounters last year that led to the neutralization of several Communists Terrorists leaders and members including George Madlos alias Ka Oris, Mindanao’s top NPA Commander.
Since January 2021, 4ID had neutralized 162 NPA rebels through capture or killed during encounters, 351 also voluntarily surrendered, and 1666 members have rejected the terrorist CPP-NPA-NDF and renewed their allegiance to the government.
4th ID also recorded a total of 448 firearms seized through encounters, surrenders, and the discovery of an arms cache.
4th ID Acting Commander Brigadier General Oliver T. Vesliño said that the group in 4th ID’s area of responsibility is incurring irreversible losses following the neutralization of their key leaders.
Vesliño reiterated his call for the remaining members of the NPA to instead embrace peace and start life anew by availing of the government’s Enhanced-Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
Photo: 4th ID
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