the first skirmish between the npa and the military happened in southern negros on september 1971. with the information that the npa had a base in the towns of candoni and kabankalan, the military immediately sent troops in the said area to hunt down the rebels. the npa's popularity in the hinterlands of southern negros, where government was seldom seen and felt, could be explained by its ability to dispense swift, revolutionary justice and maintain order in the community. on april 18, 1989, an undetermined number of npa guerillas launched a surprise attack on the 7th ib, alpha company detachment at caningay, candoni. the caningay raid was one of the npa's most daring attacks on a military outpost in candoni.