Army junior officer killed in Occidental Mindoro clash with NPA rebels

An Army junior officer was killed in an encounter with communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Occidental Mindoro on Sunday morning, military officials said Monday.

1Lt. Mike Nollora, commander of the Charlie Company of the Army’s 4th Infantry Battalion, died after he was hit by "sniper fire" in San Jose town, according to Army spokesman Col. Benjamin Hao.

"He is going to visit his troops when he was engaged along the way," Hao said. "During the encounter, he was hit by a sniper fire."

Nollora is a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 2009.
 
Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman for the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division based in Rizal province, said Nollora was leading a platoon of soldiers in a combat operation when they clashed with about 10 rebels in Barangay Batasan around 8:20 a.m. Sunday.

He said Nollora was hit in the left thigh during the 10-minute firefight.

"Troops applied first aid but unfortunately, the officer died at around 11 a.m," Cabangbang said.

He said a Huey chopper arrived at the scene only around 3:46 p.m. to airlift Nollora’s cadaver, now currently at the mortuary at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

“The area is far and then a landing zone has to be cleared," Cabangbang said on why Nollora was not immediately airlifted to a hospital.

"He was hit in a major artery, he lost blood. With that injury, you’ll probably die in 30 minutes," he added. —KBK, GMA News