Cagayan De Oro City— President Rodrigo Roa Duterte posthumously awarded three soldiers killed by communist rebels in Bukidnon last week during his visit to Camp Evangelista on Sunday.
The awardees—Sgt. Owen Yee, Cpl. Niño Christopher Talabor and Cpl. Pat Non—were all members of the Army’s 8th Infantry Battalion based in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.
The slain soldiers, who were wearing civilian clothes and were unarmed, were on their way to Kibalabag, a remote village in Malaybalay City on Wednesday to follow up documents for the livelihood project of the remote community.
Members of the New People’s Army attacked the victims, a day after the communists announced that it was suspending its own unilateral ceasefire.
The victims sustained at least 24 gunshots each, or a total of 76 gunshots of different calibers.