The Philippine Army has assured civilians that they have nothing to fear during operations, including the use of close air support to target suspected members of the New People's Army (NPA) in Dipaculao, Aurora.

This firefight between the 91st Infantry "Sinagtala" Battalion (91IB) and suspected NPA members resulted in one soldier being wounded. The soldier is now in stable condition. 

The Army gave the assurance after social media posts surfaced about civilians getting killed, including children. It has denied these reports. 

On airstrikes in particular, the army said these are calculated and targeted carefully. 

“Iyong pagpapa-conduct ng airstrike, wala naman po tayong dapat ikabahala doon sapagkat meron po tayong target location ng mga kalaban. Yung mga sibilyan ay huwag po silang mag-alala sapagkat kini-clear po muna namin yung area na sinisiguro po namin na walang sibilyan ang madadamay,” 2nd Lt. Jessa Mae Naman, a representative of the 91IB, said.

During a press briefing, authorities said there were consecutive encounters in Barangays Toytoyan and Salay in Dipaculao. 

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has established checkpoints in select areas to enhance security.

“Kung may nakikita po tayong kapulisan na nagsasagawa po ng checkpoint, yun po ay regular naman nating ginagawa. Nagdagdag lang po tayo [ng] checkpoint dahil nga po sa nangyaring engkwentro sa ating bayan,” PMAJ. Michelle Paulino, Chief of the Dipaculao Police Station, said.

Clearing operations by the soldiers continue in the areas where the encounters occurred.