JABONGA, Agusan del Norte – The military captured Wednesday 3 members of the communist New People’s Army in the outskirts of Jabonga municipality, this province.
The NPA rebels were captured in Barangay Maraiging after several minutes of heavy fighting, it was learned. They were identified as Renan Bago alias Justin, the vice team leader of Squad Dragon of SDG-16; Andre Pinao; and Tungan Lauro.
Troops from the 29th Infantry Battalion, the report said, were conducting security operations at the government’s farm-to-market road in the area when suddenly NPA guerillas fired at them, which then triggered the skirmishes.
The military operations were triggered when they received reports that the communist NPA rebels threatened to sow terror at the ongoing constructions works of the said government road project.
It was learned that the NPA combatants belong to the groups of Sandatahang Yunit Pampropaganda 16A and Sentro de Grabidad 16 (SDG-16) all of Guerrilla Front 16, North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee of the NPA, led by a certain Francisco Nicolas, alias Chong.
The military recovered one M-16 Armalite rifle at the encounter site after approximately 15 minutes of skirmishes led the NPA rebels to retreat to unknown directions.
