MALAYBALAY, BUKIDNON – The New People’s Army (NPA) staged an attack on May 22 at a village in a farming town of San Fernando, Bukidnon, about 180 kilometers west of Davao City, forcing some 210 families to flee their homes for fear of being caught in the crossfire.
This was learned from a rather late report issued to the media by the 403rd Brigade Civil Military Operations (CMO) Officer Captain Rene M. Belmonte, Jr. According to his report, an undisclosed number of NPA rebels entered Sitio Spring of Barangay Cawayan, Friday, and fired at the house of Jerson Bianza, son of the barangay chairperson of adjoining Barangay Magkalungay, and killing him instantly.
Capt. Belmonte said the field units of the 403rd Brigade and the local government of San Fernando took care of the IP evacuees. They had distributed food packs to families in the temporary shelter at the evacuation being provided by the barangay and the municipality of San Fernando. The evacuees also underwent stress debriefing to ease their fear and anxiety brought about by the incident.
He also said “this harassment by the communist terrorists made the highland people flee their homes and they did it out of desperation to recover the village, which was once an NPA stronghold.”
San Fernando Mayor Levi C. Edma, who also chairs the San Fernando Municipal Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (MTF-ELCAC) condemned the recent attack by the NPA saying “I am very much disappointed of the barbaric acts committed by the rebel group.” The chief executive appealed to the 403rd brigade to conduct intensive operation to wipe out and prevent the rebels from coming to their town again.
