A Commander of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed after the focused military operation by soldiers of the 403rd Infantry Brigade in the vicinity of barangays Dumalaguig, Impasugong, and Mount Kalatungan, all in the province of Bukidnon since Feb. 18.
Maj. Regie Go, the spokesperson of the 4th Infantry Division, identified him as Renato Tilucan alias Sidlak, the commander of the Sentro de-Grabedad of Guerrilla Front 68, North Central Mindanao Regional Committee.
The military operations resulted in the capture of two communist hideouts, war materiel, and personal belongings.
“Some civilian populace disclosed that they saw a number of fleeing NPAs passing through in a hurry, carrying with them their dead and wounded comrades,” he said.
The 403 Infantry Brigade, under Col. Ferdinand Barandon, in close coordination with the LGUs and local government agencies in Bukidnon, has activated the Incident Command System. The system will help monitor the possible effect of the military operations, ensure the safety of civilians, and the delivery of basic social services to affected communities.
Th 29th IB, 30th IB, and 65th IB successively hit the NPAs in Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions on Feb. 11-13, resulting in the death of one rebel and the recovery of four high-powered firearms, one shotgun, one anti-personnel mine, rifle magazines, and assorted ammunition.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, the commander of the 4th ID, said, “We had launched a series of FMO (focused military operation) as a response to the information voluntarily given from the local populace.”
“We will use all the Army’s capability to ensure the safety and protection of our communities and finally end the local communist armed conflict in Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions,” Gacal said.
