Lucena City, Philippines – The town of San Francisco in Quezon Province was shook by an exchange of gunfire last Tuesday, 07 March 2017. At around 2:00 p.m., government forces engaged more than 20 heavily armed communist guerrillas suspected to be members of the New People’s Army.

The firefight left four suspected NPA rebels dead. Col. Lenard Agustin, the 201st Infantry Brigade commander, reported that his troops encountered the rebels in Sitio Umagos in Barangay Mabunga. In a phone interview, Col. Agustin said that though there is a body count, he has not received information on the identities of those killed.

No casualties were reported on the side of the government. Soldiers recovered two AK47 rifles and an M16 armalite that were left by fleeing rebels. Pursuit operations are being conducted by both military and local police forces.