TACLOBAN CITY, Jan.
17 -- The Philippine Army on Wednesday
honored a soldier wounded in a recent gun battle with communist rebels in
Northern Samar.
Commander of the
Army’s 8th Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Raul Farnacio, pinned the Wounded
Personnel Medal on Cpl. Artemio Bendo Jr. at the Camp Lukban Station Hospital.
Bendo and other soldiers of the 43rd Infantry Battalion were in Sumoroy village
in Lope de Vega, Northern Samar on Jan. 14 for a humanitarian mission when they
encountered a group of rebels.
“This award is a
manifestation of the degree of sacrifice that a soldier has to pay in order for
our fellow Filipinos to continue to live in peace. It is just fitting to
commend personnel, such as Corporal Bendo, who risked his life in helping and
protecting the less fortunate in the far-flung areas,” Farnacio said in a
statement sent to media on Wednesday.
This is the second
clash between soldiers and members of the New People’s Army (NPA) since the end
of the holiday truce on January 2.
The first encounter
was on Jan. 3 when two rebels were killed in upland Hilapnitan village in
Baybay City.
“The successful
encounters of our government troops are the result of our effort to defeat the
communist terrorists in support of President Duterte’s campaign against rebels
who continue to extort money from communities and private businesses and employ
atrocities against civilians,” Farnacio added. (SQM/PNA)
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