Around 45 families, or 152 individuals, have returned to their homes in a remote village in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, days after weekend clashes between government troops and the New People’s Army (NPA).
Brig. Gen. Jason Jumawan, commander of the Philippine Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade, assured Tanjay City Mayor Pepe Orlino that residents of Sitio Canggabi, Barangay Sto. Niño, are safe, saying the encounter sites are far from homes and farms.
As of Wednesday, no evacuees remained at the Sto. Niño barangay gymnasium, where they sought shelter after Sunday’s skirmishes. City health officials, the City Social Welfare and Development Office, and police provided food packs, medicines, and psychosocial support.
Jumawan said operations are ongoing, with support from Army units in Negros Occidental, to pursue NPA remnants blamed for clashes that killed Corporal Renold Gardose and wounded Private 1st Class Janes Tyrone Lozano of the 11th Infantry Battalion.
Residents earlier reported armed men conducting house-to-house visits and nighttime meetings in what the Army believes were recruitment efforts. Jumawan said troops will continue operations to prevent the group’s resurgence in Negros Oriental.
