PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 5, 2013) – A government soldier was killed in an ambush Friday by communist rebels in the town of Guipos in Zamboanga del Sur province in southern Philippines, a military spokesman said.
Captain Jefferson Somera said the soldiers – Corporal Danilo Saavedra and Private First Class Rommel Taneo – were returning to their headquarters on a motorcycle when New People’s Army rebels attacked them in the village of Magting.
He said Saavedra was hit in the back and managed to return fire, but eventually died from his wound. While Taneo defended his position until army reinforcement arrived.
The rebels escaped to the hinterlands. Somera said the soldiers were part of the so-called “peace and development” team engaged in community and humanitarian projects in the town.
Brigadier General Felicito Virgilio Trinidad, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, has condemned the killing of the soldier.
“This action of the enemy manifests their anti-development and anti-peace programs. Our troops were there to uplift the socio-economic condition of our fellows but were fired upon in a desperate attempt to disrupt them. This incident will not stop the 1st Infantry Division to bring peace and development in every community,” he said.
The NPA has been fighting the democratic government for the establishment of a separate state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
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