Vice President Sara Duterte visited Northern Mindanao on Thursday to pay respects to the soldiers who died and those who survived a recent encounter with Dawlah Islamiya – Maute Group (DI-MG) extremists.

Duterte visited the bereaved families of the late Cpl. Reland Tapinit in Barangay Maranding, Lala town, Lanao del Norte.

She was supposed to visit the family of the late Private 1st Class (Pfc.) James Porras in Barangay Santa Maria, Prosperidad town, Agusan del Sur but her convoy canceled the trip due to bad weather conditions.

Tapinit and Porras, who belong to the Army’s 44th Infantry Battalion (44IB), were two of the six casualties in the encounter between Army troops and the DI-MG on Feb. 18.

Duterte also visited the four troops of the 44IB who survived the encounter and are recuperating at the Camp Evangelista Station Hospital (CESH) at the 4th Infantry Division headquarters here.

“We visited them primarily to check their general welfare, but we also provided some cash assistance to help them with their needs as they recover,” she said.

The four are Cpl. Reymark Limare, Pfc. Raymond Dominguez; and Privates Nazareno Provido and Marvine Aguipo.

While here, Duterte also visited soldiers at the CESH and the Adventist Hospital in Iligan City who survived recent clashes with New People’s Army (NPA) communist rebels.

Two wounded soldiers, Pfc. Rocky Bicoy and Pfc. Neil Calope, are recovering at the CESH after an encounter with NPA combatants last month. (PNA)

Photo credit: Facebook/MayorIndaySaraDuterteOfficial