Soldier hurt as armed clash erupts anew in Capiz town

By Jennifer P. Rendon

 

A soldier was wounded in an encounter with suspected rebel forces in Tapaz, Capiz early morning of July 21, 2020.

Lieutenant Michael Imperial, Civil Military Operations officer of the Philippine Army’s 12th Infantry Battalion, deferred to identify the soldier but claimed the latter only suffered a minor gunshot injury on his left foot.

Members of the 12th IB’s Alpha Company encountered 15 suspected armed members of the New People’s Army (NPA) at 6:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Imperial said the troops responded to information relayed by the local folks on the presence of armed men at Sitio Tina in Barangay Tacayan.

The soldiers, who were on combat patrol, later found the rebels’ location and a 10-minute firefight ensued.

While the 12IB had one injured soldier, Imperial believed that the rebels had more wounded soldiers, or worse fatalities, based on the traces of blood found in the encounter site.

An armed clash between the two forces also happened in Barangay Tacayan on July 8.

A 16-year -old boy was wounded after suspected NPA members opened fired at a group of Army soldiers who were part of the Community Support Program (CSP).

Despite the incident, Colonel Marion Sison, 301st Infantry Brigade commander, gave assurance to the Tapaznon that the Army’s CSP Team will continue to bring the government closer to them through fast and unhampered delivery of services.

The CSP team was part of the 12 CSP teams deployed by the 12th IB to the depressed barangays of the municipalities of Tapaz in Capiz province and Calinog, Janiuay, Lambunao, and Maasin in Iloilo on June 22, 2020.

These identified barangays are deemed as “rebel hotbeds.”

The CSP, which replaces AFP’s Oplan Bayanihan, emphasizes the military’s new thrust of enhancing nation-building and countryside development in relation to the peace policy of President Rodrigo Duterte

CSP is a people-centered program which aims to bring peace and development in conflict-affected barangays. It is an initiative of the state forces to bring the government closer to the people through an immediate delivery of basic services especially to grassroots communities.