A clash between communist rebels and government troops Monday in the Misamis Oriental town of Balingasag resulted in the death of two insurgents. In a statement Tuesday, the Army’s 58th Infantry Battalion (58IB) said the 10-minute armed encounter ensued after the soldiers chanced upon a group of 10 New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Kibanban, Balingasag. Lt. Col. Christian Uy, 58IB commander, said the gunfight led to the seizure of an M16 rifle, an M653 rifle, a Cal .22 rifle, personal belongings, assorted medical paraphernalia, and subversive documents. Uy said a pursuit operation is still ongoing as of Tuesday. The

Fifty-eight communist New People’s Army rebels and supporters have surrendered to various police units in the Caraga Region from Nov. 6 to 14, the Police Regional Office (PRO-13) reported Tuesday. In a statement, Maj. Jennifer Ometer, PRO-13 information officer, said the surrenderers also handed over to the government 22 firearms. “Seven NPA rebels wanted by the law were also arrested during the period,” Ometer said, adding that among those arrested was NPA couple Nelson Binongkasan and Ednalyn Tejero Binongkasan. Binongkasan, the team leader of Guerrilla Front Committee 19 (GFC-19), North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC) of the NPA, and his

The Dinagat Islands Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) will spearhead the province’s 10th Rescue Summit and Response Exercises from Nov. 16 to 19, a top official said Tuesday. In an interview, Governor Nilo Demerey Jr. pointed out that Dinagat Islands, being an island province, is constantly at risk from the threats of calamities, especially typhoons. Demerey said the summit will serve as a venue to assess and calibrate the various strategies and responses made in the past calamities, especially during the onslaught of typhoon Odette in December last year. “It is important that we look back into our

Ilocos Norte officials on Monday reaffirmed the province’s insurgency-free status, assuring investors of its readiness for development. This as members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP or provincial board) unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming the declaration of the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) that the Ilocos Region, which includes the two cities, 21 municipalities, and 559 barangays of Ilocos Norte, is under a state of stable internal peace and security. “This means that residents here continue to enjoy generally peaceful communities with no monitored atrocity by communist rebels in the province so far.” said provincial board