AN Army lieutenant and a New People’s Army rebel died while three other soldiers were injured in an encounter in Oas town in Albay last Wednesday.
The Army’s 9th Infantry Division named the slain officer as 2Lt. Nico Malcampo, a platoon leader from the Army’s 49th Infantry Battalion and member of the Army’s Officers Candidate Course in 2020.
The military said Malcampo and his men conducted a security operation in Barangay Ramay where a group of rebels was reportedly conducting extortion activity against a company involved in a construction project.
When they arrived at the site at around 9 a.m., the rebels detonated an anti-personnel mine, killing Malcampo and wounding three other soldiers.
Other soldiers clashed with the rebels for about 30 minutes, leading to the death of one of the insurgents and recovery of three high-powered firearms and belongings of the rebels who fled.
Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao, 9th ID commander, extended his condolences to the family of Malcampo, a native of Basilan and a father to a three-year-old girl.
“His heroism cannot be discounted for the defense of the country against the abusive communist terrorist group,” said Bajao.
Bajao also denounced the NPA attack, noting that the use of anti-personnel land mine is against the International Humanitarian Law at Geneva Convention of 1949.
“Despite this (incident), we are not going to allow ourselves to be discouraged. Instead, we are going to further intensify our operations to ensure that communities are safe and will not fall victim to the harassments of the terrorist group,” said Bajao.
