At least four communist guerrillas and one soldier were killed in separate clashes Saturday in the northern and central Philippines, the military said. Army soldiers encountered about 30 New People's Army guerrillas in San Narciso town in Quezon province, southeast of the Philippine capital, Manila, as they prepared to escape by sea following a week-long pursuit by government forces, said Lt. Col. Armand Bustillos, commander of the 74th Infantry Battalion. At least two guerillas were killed in the clash, he said. He said a laptop computer was recovered from one of the slain guerrillas, indicating that he was a senior rebel leader. Troops also recovered an M-16 assault rifle and communist documents from the area, about 210 kilometers (131 miles) southeast of Manila, he said. The rebels had boats ready on a shoreline and could have been planning to escape to the nearby Bicol region across the Ragay Gulf east of San Narciso, Bustillos said. Two other rebels were killed on Saturday in a gun battle with soldiers outside San Isidro town in central Leyte province, according to said Maj. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang, commander of the Army's 8th Infantry Division. Maclang said troops from the army's 19th Infantry Battalion encountered 10 guerrillas in the remote area, and a clash ensued. There were no government casualties, he said. In northern Isabela province, an army soldier was killed and two others were wounded when their patrol encountered about 30 NPA guerrillas in a village outside San Guillermo town early Saturday, said Colonel Victor Felix, 502nd Infantry Brigade commander. Felix said the rebels also suffered an undetermined number of casualties who were carried by their comrades into a forest, The Associated Press reported.
