Army soldier from Aklan killed in Negros

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
 

The Philippine Army figured in an encounter with the rebels in Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City in Negros Occidental last Thursday, the military said. 

Two Army troopers identified as Private First Class Henry Lumio Jr.  of Balete, Aklan and Corporal Napoleon Supresencia of Guimaras Island were killed during the clash. 

The Negros encounter also wounded Private First Class Leland Sucatre.

Major Ray Tiongson, Army 3rd Infantry Division spokesman, said at least 30 rebels believed to be members of Central Negros Front operating in the hinterlands of Negros, fired upon the soldiers at around 2 p.m.

The soldiers belonging to 47th Infantry Battalion engaged the New People’s Army (NPA) members in a 30-minute gunfire. 

Tiongson said armed NPA combatants were wounded in the fire fight who were able to flee with their comrades.  

“After the fire fight, there were signs of  blood stains when our government troops scoured the site of the encounter,” he said. 

The soldiers were conducting humanitarian (bayanihan) efforts in the said village and in patrol in response to complaints from residents of the presence of armed insurgents.

Tiongson said Lumio sustained gunshot wounds in the chest and back. His body will be transported in Aklan this Monday, he added.

He also expressed his deepest sympathy to the families and relatives of the fallen soldiers killed in the encounter.  

To sustain efforts to promote peace, Tiongson stressed that “for the past six months, 20 regular NPA members in Negros Island returned to the government fold and started living with their families and loved ones in the mainstream.”