Three civilians were wounded in an alleged attack by New People’s Army in Sitio Emerald, Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur on Feb. 21.
In a belated army report, communist guerrillas reportedly lobbed an M203 grenade on the house that injured the occupants, including a five-year-old girl.
The attack also forced 67 Manobo families to evacuate their homes to avoid being caught in a crossfire between government troops and NPA rebels.
1Lt Krisjuper Andreo Punsalan, the civil-military operations officer of the 3rd Special Forces Battalion, identified the wounded as Andrea Gallergo, 55; Marimar Terse, 19; and Reynafe Calipay, 5.
The Community Support Team medics immediately applied first-aid and brought the wounded to the Lianga District Hospital.
Last Jan. 22, the 3rd SFBn claimed, alias Uway shared about the alleged conspiracy between the NPA and the group Mapasu to conduct harassments on the community and pin the blame on the military.
“This only proved that the allegation that Mapasu and the CNTs (NPA) conspired to terrorize the community. We already have a lead on the suspected criminals, mostly Mapasu members, who conspired with the CNTs,” Lt. Col. Joey B. Baybayan, 3rd SFBn commanding officer, said.
But he said the government will continue to fulfill its mandate of delivering basic services to the communities in the Andap Valley Complex, “especially now that the momentum is in favor of the government.”
Last Feb. 19, the NPAs also torched the dump truck owned by the Provincial Engineering Office. The truck was used to deliver gravel for the installation of culverts to rehabilitate farm-to-market roads in Sitio Emerald.
The IP community previously condemned the NPA and asked the military to establish a patrol base at Km. 9 to protect them.
Baybayan said that the attack could a retaliation following the recent arrests of Renan Cantos, a ranking NPA leader with 10 standing warrants of arrest, and Juanito Tejero Calipay, 28, a resident of Sitio Emerald and an active member of the Guerrilla Front 19, Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee. Calipay had six standing warrants.
