An alleged member of New People's Army (NPA) was killed while a soldier was wounded in another encounter in Quezon province on Wednesday afternoon.

Capt. Jayrald Ternio, public affairs chief of the 2nd Infantry Division, said the clash happened in the vicinity of Brgy Ilayang Yuni of Mulanay around 5 pm.

"This is the third encounter between government security forces and the NPA terrorists since Saturday after the rebel group has been tipped off by civilians for offensive posturing against the residents of the village," he said.

The Philippine government and the Communist Party of the Philippines declared a ceasefire while the country battles the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Ternio said the troops of 85th Infantry Battalion were responding to the reported presence of the rebels in the area when the clash occured.

He said the troops “performing COVID-19 prevention-related mission when they received information from concerned citizens that around 20 terrorists were coercing some locals to give in to their extortion demands.”

After the clash, troops also recovered two firearms.

Ternio said at the moment, the 2nd ID has 2,808 personnel manning 306 quarantine control points across Southern Tagalog.

"The engaged troops have been on the frontlines of raising awareness about COVID-19 to far-flung communities in southern Quezon," he said.

"Distributing informative leaflets is one of the soldiers’ efforts to complement the loudspeaker operations in areas which are not accessible in their vehicle-mounted speakers," he added. Robina Asido/DMS