CAMP EVANGELISTA, Cagayan de Oro City – Two (2) CPP-NPA Terrorists (CNTs) have died while two (2) high-powered firearms were seized after 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division troops’ aggressive and no let-up operation resulted in successful encounters in the province of Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Sur on February 11 and 12, marking another significant impact in 4ID’s campaign to end the local communist armed conflict.
On Feb. 11, continuous offensive of the troops of the 58th Infantry Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel Christian C. Uy resulted in an encounter with more or less nine (9) members of the SRSDG MTG Eagles, SRC 1 of the communist terrorist group’s North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC) at Sitio Kayagan, Brgy. Quezon Heights, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental.
The firefight lasted for 10 minutes and resulted in the death of a certain Miguel Sereño alias Eman/Zoren/Bestre, a vice squad leader of squad 1 of said CNT group, and the seizure of one (1) Ingram, a detonating cord and blasting cap, backpack with personal belongings and assorted terrorist documents.
Subsequently, on Feb. 12, troops of the 3rd Special Forces Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel Paulo Baylon, the Commanding Officer, clashed with members of the Regional Operations Command (ROC) and Regional Sentro De Gravidad (RSDG) of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee in Brgy. Baucawe, Lianga, Surigao del Sur, which resulted in the death of one (1) CNT and the capture of an M60 machine gun and several CTG war materiel.
“After our troops thoroughly scoured and cleared the area due to heavy blood stains at the encounter site, we discovered an abandoned female CNT cadaver initially identified as alias Sunshine, Medic of ROC, NEMRC. It is very unfortunate that another life had been wasted because of the continuous deceit of CTG. We call upon the remaining CTG leaders to stop exploiting innocent civilians for their senseless and violent agenda,” Lt. Col. Baylon added.
In a statement, Major General Jose Maria R. Cuerpo II, Commander of the 4th Infantry Division extended his sincerest condolences to the families of the dead CNTs as he recognized the need to use necessary force to protect the people and its communities against terrorist criminals. Likewise, he commended the troops’ steadfast commitment in performing their duty to defend communities from the threats posed by the CTG. He emphasized that said successful operations further diminished the CTG’s capabilities to operate and recover desperately their former influence areas.
“These achievements demonstrate a substantial blow to the CTG’s abilities to carry out atrocities, particularly in vulnerable communities within our area of responsibility. With these gains, we have proved the effectiveness of collaborative efforts between our troops, our stakeholders, and our communities to defeat the CTG. As we continue in winning this campaign, we will not cease to aggressively fight against the remaining CNTs whom we have been giving ample chances to heed to the government’s call for peace and unity. Nevertheless, we remain open and ready to embrace those who will choose to lay down their firearms and assure them of necessary assistance under the government’s E-CLIP,” MGen Cuerpo said.
####
