79TH IB TCP, Somewhere in Escalante City – The commander of the Army unit that dismantled the northern Negros rebel front here has revealed the death toll continues to rise for the civilian killer unit their soldiers clashed with in upland communities here since last week.
Lieutenant Colonel Arnel Calaoagan, commander of the 79th Infantry Battalion told DNX here that the fatality for the rebels could now be five after two men reportedly died of gunshot wounds while being treated in a hospital.
Calaogan added these patients were declared by those who admitted them as having committed “suicide.”
He ssid they could not confirm yet if these are indeed NPA fighters wounded in battle but information relayed to them by the police showed the wounds of these men were not consistent with suicide.
He did not elaborate.
A Philippine executive order issued in 2015 required hospitals to report cases of gunshot wounds to the National Police.
Three bodies were found last week at the clash site in Mansulao, two of tgem former child warriors recruited by the NPA when they were minors, the Army had reported earlier.
