Masbate Rebels Suffer Double Whammy in Sorsogon Encounter

            Rebels who fled the relentless pursuit operations of the Army in the province of Masbate suffered another humiliating defeat in the hands of government forces in Sorsogon, a military official said.

            Lt. Col Teody Toribio, Commanding Officer of the 31st IB stationed in Juban town in Sorsogon said that his unit dealt a decisive blow against the Masbate-based rebels during an encounter at about 2:00pm yesterday, Nov 29, which yielded 8 high-powered rifles.
            He said that he sent a nine-man squad of soldiers together with some PNP officers to check on a report that an abandoned white maritime vessel was reportedly aground the coastal waters of Brgy Poblacion Norte in Barcelona, Sorsogon early in the morning yesterday.


            “A tipster saw armed men disembark the vessel early in the morning of Nov 29. This information was also validated by another villager who claimed to have seen the rebels boarding a motorcycle towards Juban town,” said Toribio.
            Two of the rifles, a 12-gauge shotgun and an M1 Carbine rifle was discovered inside the abandoned fishing vessel which ran aground in the sandbar.
            The group of soldiers who scoured the vicinity, were fired upon by the rebels who were hiding behind the thick mangrove trees. A 15-minute firefight ensued after which the rebels escaped with their casualties.
            “They mingled with the civilian fishermen who were also near the vicinity prompting my soldiers to hold their fire to prevent collateral damage,” added Toribio.
            The soldiers confiscated 6 more highpowered firearms including five (5) m16 rifles and one (1) cal.30 M1 Garand rifle who were left behind by the fleeing rebels.The soldiers also recovered various types of  ammunition, subversive documents and personal belongings.

Army Corporal Jeffrey N Balajadia, the squad leader, said that during the inspection, they found that the markings MAS15.0002.BA indicating that the vessel was registered in Masbate.

Col Felix Castro, 903rd Brigade Commander, who has operational jurisdiction in the provinces of Sorsogon and Masbate, directed 31is IB for pursuit operations against the NPA rebels. He also confirmed that the rebels belong to a group of communist rebels operating in Masbate.

“The recovered subversive documents indicated that the rebels who figured in this firefight came all the way from Masbate province. They suffered heavily in the recent clashes with the 9^th Infantry Battalion in that area, forcing them to flee towards mainland Bicol which is accessible by boat,” said Castro.

Castro also emphasized that the encounter is a perfect example of Oplan Bayanihan at work. He lauded the PNP and the civilians who provided the timely information regarding the rebels’ presence.

“Our healthy relationships with the various stakeholders in the province combined with our “Bayanihan” efforts in Sorsogon paid off leading to this accomplishment.” concluded Castro. (Harold Cabunoc)

903rd Brigade Participates in DepEd’s Reading Month

      Castilla, Sorsogon. The 903^rd Brigade of the Philippine Army participated in the observance of the Reading Month, one of the many programs of the Department of Education to instill in the young students the desire to seek knowledge. Conducted in the morning of November 25, the soldiers read short stories to the students of San Isidro Elementary School in Castilla, Sorsogon and afterwards asked questions to test their comprehension.

Mr Teddy Janola, the school principal, invited the soldiers as well as the college students from the Bicol University in Daraga, Albay who were taking up Bachelor of Science in Peace Studies. They were led by Dr. Herbert B. Rosana, Head of Peace Studies Department of BU and Director of Bicol Consortium for Peace Education and Development (BCPED) and Mrs Gina Oropesa, a department faculty member. Also present was the barangay chairwoman of San Isidro, Hon. Salome Jamores.

San Isidro Elementary School has been under the School of Peace Program of the BCPED as a pilot school since 2000. Dr Rosana explained that the program is supported by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). Under this program, the school incorporates peace concepts in their lessons in most of the subjects. Teachers inculcate the value of peace to ensure a brighter future for their young pupils as law-abiding citizens. Teachers, at the same time, are also trained on how to reach out to the families of students and other members of the community for a holistic approach to build a culture of peace. They were trained on how to mainstream peace perspectives into the basic education curriculum as well as into school policies, processes and relationships to make them conflict-sensitive and peace promoting.

During an interview with some teachers, they said that they noticed remarkable changes in the behavior of their pupils, who now refrain from saying bad and hurting words to fellow students. They also keep their composure and avoided retaliating when provoked by their classmates. The phrase “Peace Be with You” has also become the popular saying heard around the campus.

Col Felix J Castro Jr, 903^rd Brigade Commander, has promised to support all the activities of the School of Peace. In fact, he has already solicited several books for donation to the school on December 20 during their “Aklat para sa Kapayapaan” program.

Moreover, he plans to solicit the support of Mayor Olive Bermillo of Castilla, the BCPED and DepEd to enroll all public schools of the said municipality in the School of Peace Program as a pilot project in the province of Sorsogon. Dr Rosana has promised to support this and he is already preparing a concept paper. “We must plant the seeds of peace in the fertile minds of these children so that society could eventually reap lasting peace.”, Col Castro said.

Indeed, the youth is the hope of the fatherland.

Army KOs rebels in Masbate firefight

       CAMP ELIAS ANGELES, Pili, Camarines Sur --- Early morning of the much-hyped Pacquiao – Marquez duel last Sunday, a 15-man group of soldiers engaged in a firefight 15 NPA rebels in Sitio Matagbac, Milagros, Masbate at about 6:00 a.m. of that day, drawing a big knockout victory for the Army in the area.

        “While your Army here in Masbate was busy with feeding programs in partnership with the local government, NPA rebels were also busy extorting money from the local villagers,” reported Lt. Col. Julian Pacatan, commanding officer of the 9th Infantry Battalion based in Milagros, Masbate.

        “They (the people) are tired of NPA extortion activities in the area,” Pacatan added.

        Recovered at the site of the encounter were an M16 rifle, one M653 (baby armalite) rifle, two cal.38 pistols, 25 pieces IEDs (improvised explosive device), one rifle grenade, one binocular, one cellular phone, and subversive documents. The soldiers suffered no casualty during the encounter.

        “Bloodstains are scattered everywhere in the encounter site,” said 2nd Lt. Francis Alfie C. Tuazon, the officer who led the 15-man group of soldiers. He added that local villagers pinpointed the location of the NPA extortionists and saw the rebels carrying their wounded or killed comrades.

        During Pacquiao vs Mosley in May last year, the 9th Infantry Battalion also scored knockout victories against NPA rebels in Aroroy when they killed a top rebel official and another rebel during an encounter there where several high-powered firearms were also seized from the retreating rebels.

        Col. Felix Castro Jr, commander of the 903rd Infantry Brigade, directed 9th IB, for pursuit operations. “We will just watch Lt.Col. Pacquiao’s fight later, we’ll do our job first,” referring to the boxing hero as a recently commissioned Army officer. (News)

Troops, communist rebels clash in Sorsogon

              MANILA - Government troops clashed with alleged New People's Army rebels in a remote village in Sorsogon Sunday morning, the Philippine Army said.

              Colonel Felix Castro, commander of the Army's 903rd Brigade based in Castilla town, said that the clash happened in Tinampo village of Bulusan town at around 7 a.m.

             Castro said soldiers responded to complaints from residents that the suspects were allegedly harassing and extorting locals. A seven-man team from the Army responded to the site but was fired upon by around 10 suspects, triggering a gunfight.

             After 10 minutes, the suspects fled. Troops recovered an M16 rifle, a Garand rifle, a carbine rifle, a cal. 45 pistol and improvised bombs.

           The NPA rebels have suffered a series of setbacks after the soldiers intensified their combat operations in answer to the complaints by the civilians that they are forced to give food and money to the NPAs.

          Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz has directed all Army units to remain vigilant for possible NPA attacks during the long weekend and on All Saints' Day. (News)

ARMY DETACHMENT SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDED AGAINST COMMUNIST TERRORIST ATTACK IN CLAVERIA, MASBATE : FOUR WOUNDED

          Camp Elias Angeles, Pili, Camarines Sur – About 50 communist terrorists (CTs) attacked a CAFGU detachment in Brgy Pasig, Claveria (Burias Island) in Masbate midnight of October 15, 2011 until the early hours of Oct 16, 2011   inflicting slight wounds to two (2) soldiers and two (2) CAFGU Active Auxillaries (CAA).

         They were identified on as Corporal Audie Estioco, Pfc Albert Borja and CAA Melchor Monticod and CAA Anastacio Del Rosario.

        According to the report that reached this headquarters, the CTs almost encircled the detachment during the attack that resulted to an exchange of fire lasting for an hour. Cartridges from various firearms and several bloodstains were seen after clearing operations this morning. 

       “Our troops bravely stood their ground. Our wounded soldiers are OK. Despite outnumbered ; superiority in firepower, properly fortified defenses and strong leadership of the Non Commissioned Officers were keys to the successful defense of the detachment.”, said Lieutenant Colonel Julian C Pacatan, Commanding Officer of the 9^th ID’s 9^th Infantry Battalion stationed in Milagros, Masbate.

            Exactly a month ago, soldiers deployed in San Pascual in Burias Island encountered in a hot pursuit operations against the CTs that resulted to the death of two (2) rebels and recovery of one (1) cal.30 heavy machine gun, one (1) M16 rifle, one (1) M653 baby armalite, three (3) cal.38 revolvers,12 IEDs subversive documents and other war materials.  

            Colonel Felix Castro Jr, 903^rd Infantry Brigade Brigade Commander who has operational jurisdiction in Sorsogon and Masbate said that the rebels wanted to ease the tension of Army operations in mainland Masbate by conducting attacks in the islands. He said that he will not bite their bait by realigning troops to Burias island as there are sufficient troops in Burias Island to address the situation.

          After the CTs torched three (3) mining firms in Claver, Surigao Del Norte last Oct 3, 2011, the 9^th Infantry Division intensified its security operation region wide to include government flagship projects, vital installations and multi corporation companies that can be possible targets of NPA attack and extortion. Masbate has one (1) multi corporation mining company frequently being harassed by CTs for not giving in to their extortion activities.

        “We will not allow that to happen here in Bicol region”, Major General Josue S Gaverza Jr, Commander of the 9^th Infantry Division said referring to the Claver, Surigao Del Norte incident.