News: Afp says civilian wounded in Samar ‘encounter’

Photo from Phil. Web Revolution Central.

[Unpublished]

Feb 17 for Feb 18, 2013

Written by: Dennis D. Estopace, Reporter

for BusinessMirror newspaper

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines said a civilian was wounded in an “encounter” last Tuesday [Feb. 12] between government troops and para-military forces in a village in Samar.

In its official statement, the AFP said initially that an undetermined number of “NPA insurgents fired upon Army troops and para military forces [who were] conducting a dialogue with residents of Barangay Guindaulan, Rosario, Northern Samar.”

The attack, the AFP said, led to the death of a Pinarican CAFGU Active Auxilliary (CAA) member and the wounding of a resident, two military troops, and one CAA.

While the AFP did not name the deceased, it said the wounded civilian was one Raul Estellero, a resident of Brgy. 3, Rosario, Northern Samar.

The others wounded were: Ssg Dionald Opilanda; Sgt Arnold Miranda; and, CAA Jonar Estellero.

The AFP claims an “undetermined number of the NPA insurgents was also wounded” in what the government military institution later said was an “encounter.”

The AFP statement said the “encounter” is “another attempt to harass military personnel.”

The statement comes nearly a week after the NPA Leonardo Panaligan Command (NPA-LPC) said they are “deeply saddened that civilians were hit” in an ambush that killed eight civilians and a policeman in La Castellana town, Negros last January 27.

“We assure you that those in the NPA unit responsible for what has occurred will be subject to disciplinary action,” the NPA-LPC said in a statement issued Feb. 9.

The AFP said it “denounced the attacks against civilians perpetrated by the NPAs” that led to the death of 10 and wounding of nine civilians for the month of January alone.

According to the AFP, it has recorded in 2012 that “the NPAs were responsible for 374 violent incidents that caused the death of 53 civilians over the country.”

“Rounding up the statistics, an innocent civilian is killed by the NPA every week last year.”