A 17-year-old female supply officer of the New People’s Army was injured and “rescued” by government troops after a firefight in Kitaotao town in Bukidnon on Friday, the military reported yesterday.
Capt. Gerry Lamosao, spokesman of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division based in Davao de Oro, said the minor, identified only as alias Nina, was given first aid by troops before she was brought to the Philippine Medical Center in Davao City where she is in “stable condition.”
Citing belated reports, Lamosao said troops from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Battalion conducted security operation in Sitio Pinanubuan in Barangay Sinuda after receiving reports that a group of NPA rebels was extorting from residents.
Lamosao said soldiers clashed with the rebels belonging to the Southern Mindanao Regional Party Committee at around 5 p.m. on Friday. The two sides traded fire for about 30 minutes until the rebels withdrew.
“While clearing the area, the troops rescued a wounded 17-year-old female NPA supply officer who was left behind to bleed to death in the encounter area by her fellow NPA cadres,” said Lamosao.
Lamosao said troops recovered from Nina’s possession an improvised explosive device and a hand grenade.
Lamosao said Nina learned her combat skills in the main campus of Salugpongan Ta’tanu Igkanugon Learning Center in Talaingod town in Davao del Norte sometime in 2018, when she was only 15.
“The experience of alias Nina only proves that the Salugpongan schools are being used to train NPA combatants. They are not designed to be IP (Indigenous people) schools at the rural areas,” said Lamosao.
