Three communist rebels were killed, three were wounded, and 10 arrested — including a high-ranking official of the Southwest front — during an encounter at 7:20 am today with 6th Special Action Battalion troopers at the sub village of Balik-balik, village of Tabu, Ilog, Negros Occidental.
One of the wounded in the firefight that lasted for an hour was a high ranking official of south west front Nilda Natan-Bertaluno, otherwise known as “Ka Gia”.
A member of the SAF was wounded during the encounter.
Police Lt. Col. Ryan Manongdon told DNX that troopers were able to initially recover four M16 rifles.
The incident came two days after the burial of soldier Christopher Alada, a former first class private under the 79th Infantry Battallion who was slain during an August encounter.
Alada was buried as a hero in the public cemetery of Badiangan town, Iloilo province while the dead guerrilla previously identified by the Army as alias Pabling was given a “decent burial” in Silay City.
The soldier and the rebel who were buried on the same day were both casualties of the same clash that when their units encountered each other last 20 August.
