At least 5 suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and one Philippine Army trooper is wounded following an encounter that took place early morning on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, according to a report by the Civil Military Officer (CMO) of the 47th Infantry Battalion (IB).
1Lt. Elma Grace Remonde, the CMO of the 47th IB, confirmed via a text message to The Bohol Tribune that the encounter transpired at around 5:30 am in barangay Cabacnitan, Bilar town.
Remonde said that around 11 armed men, suspected to be NPA members, exchanged fire with Army troopers who at that time were conducting a patrol in the said area.
Due to the poor cellular signal in the area, the military spokesperson has yet to receive additional update regarding the encounter as of posting time.
Remonde said the encounter site was in a forested area of the said barangay but near the village highway.
Remonde added that troops assigned to the 47th IB’s Alpha company were conducting a patrol in the area when they encountered the armed men suspected to be members of the communist terrorist group (CTG).
Meanwhile, the encounter between the suspected NPAs and the Army is the first incident in Bohol recorded this year based on the monitoring of The Bohol Tribune