Two alleged members of New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in a five-minute encounter with government troops in Agusan del Sur on Sunday morning.

Cpt. Al Anthony Pueblas, civil military officer of the Army’s 402nd Brigade, said elements of the Tandang Sora Patrol Base, 3rd Platoon, 6th Agusan del Sur CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAA) Company under the supervision of the 23rd Infantry Battalion, 4th Infantry Division were conducting security patrol in response to reports from residents on the presence of suspected communist terrorists.

He said the encounter occurred in the vicinity of Purok 4, Barangay Oro, Esperanza, Agusan del Sur at about 5 am.

Pueblas said the clash resulted in the death of two persons identified as Juan Precioso alias "Max", 59, and Dondon Montilla alias "Amag", 23, both believed to be members of Guerrilla Front 88, North Central Mindanao Regional Command (NCMRC), while no casualty was recorded on the government side.

“Government troops lost no time to recover the bodies of the two slain terrorists and brought them to the village center where they were identified by residents and turned over to local officials for proper disposition,” he said.

Pueblas said soldiers recovered a 9mm pistol with a magazine loaded with several rounds of ammunition near the recovered bodies. Robina Asido/DMS