ZAMBOANGA CITY – Communist insurgents killed an Army officer and wounded 2 soldiers in a firefight in President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown, Davao City, in southern Philippines, officials said Friday.

Major Ezra Balagtey, an Army spokesman, said First Lt. Jarren Jay Relota, 27, was killed in the village called Mapula in Paquibato district, a stronghold of the New People’s Army (NPA). He said Relota’s group from the 16^th Infantry Battalion was sent to the village after civilians reported the presence of rebels.