TACLOBAN CITY-Members of the communist group, the New People’s Army, could still be seen in some remote villages of his town.
And their presence has frightens his people, Burauen Mayor Juanito Renomeron said.
In three occasions, the rebels engaged in firefights with government troops.
The first incident took place last August 15 in Barangay Roxas which resulted for the members of the 78th Infantry Battalion to seized a rebel camp.
The following day, another fire fight occured in between the villages of Roxas and Candag-on and resulted for one soldier to sustain injury. The third encounter happened last August 20 in the boundary of Kagbana and Mahagnao.
These series of firefights resulted for some residents, to include teachers assigned in these areas, to worry on their safety, Renomeron said,
“(But) told them to go back. I advised them to return and to remain calm and continue their work,” the town mayor said.
And should there be an advisory from the military to leave their respective areas, they should immediately heed the advice, Renomeron added.
Renomeron said that although there are rebel members operating in the hinterlands of their town, most of them are not far their area but coming from other municipalities.
During the recently-held Provincial Peace and Order Council Meeting, Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said that the military informed him on the sightings of the rebel members in Burauen.
“The rebel members comes from other areas and goes to Burauen to operate there,” Petilla said.
Petilla expressed his concern on the safety of the people living in the places identified by the military with rebel presence as some of these barangays are beneficiaries of his More Income in the Countryside Program.
“We have organized farmers in some of these barangays and they are very productive and we are trying to improve their infrastructures as much as we could. Our request is for the military to help these farmers to have normal life,” Petilla said.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
