Judy Flores-Partlow | Philippine News Agency | Negros Oriental Philippines: The Philippine Army here has warned that it will intensify operations against the insurgents in Negros Oriental following a clash between rebels on Tuesday in the southern town of Sta. Catalina.
Lt. Col. Erwin Neri, 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) commander, told reporters on Wednesday that the government scored in its anti-insurgency campaign after his troops overran and seized a guerilla base camp in the hinterland Sitio Avocado in Barangay Talalak, Sta. Catalina town.
Two separate clashes erupted between the government soldiers and the New People's Army (NPAs) guerillas on that day as helicopter gunships were also deployed to the area, but because of the camp's proximity to populated areas, the military could not conduct air strikes.
Neri highlighted the cooperation and support of residents in the hinterlands of Sta. Catalina that led to Tuesday's seizure of the guerilla base camp in Talalak, a village known to be a hotbed of insurgency in the late 80s and the early 90s.
He said that over the past week, information was building up on the presence of NPA rebels in Avocado, Talalak, Kakha and other nearby areas.
According to Neri, residents there are complaining, saying they are already fed up with the rebels who allegedly collect "taxes" and food from them.
Civilians had tipped off the military on the rebel camp situated about two to three kilometers from Avocado, and within days from receiving verified information, the 79th IB troops swooped down on the rebels, he said.
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