Militiaman killed, PSG troops injured in clash with NPA
Authorities said around 50 NPA fighters dressed as government soldiers were manning a checkpoint along a secluded stretch of highway.
Philippines – A militiaman was killed and members of the presidential guards were wounded in an attack by communist rebels disguised as soldiers in Arakan town on Wednesday.
Supt. Romeo Galgo, Jr., spokesman of the Police Regional Office-12, on Wednesday said members of the Presidential Security Group, led by Sgt. Ferbello Galleno, were on their way to Bukidnon from Davao City when they ran through a checkpoint set up by rebels along a secluded stretch of a highway in Barangay Katipunan in Arakan, North Cotabato.
Instead of pulling over, the drivers of the two vehicles carrying the PSG personnel drove through even as the New People’s Army guerrillas who tried to stop them opened fire with assault rifles.
Five PSG members were wounded in the attack, according to Galgo.
Initial reports by responding investigators from the Arakan municipal police identified the victims as Sergeants Matumhay, Lisondra and Tursal and Corporals Alia and Ledesma.
The Palace, however, said in a statement in reaction to the attack that only four members of the PSG were injured.
"The injured PSG personnel are now receiving treatment in the nearest hospital and we have been extending all necessary assistance to the wounded," Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said Wendesday afternoon.
The Palace said PSG personnel were "doing normal administrative movement for coordination" when they encountered the unauthorized checkpoint, which it said was manned by around 50 NPA fighters.
Galgo said the NPAs wore Army uniforms with insignia of the 3rd Infantry Battalion.
The Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion, which operates in Arakan and nearby towns, said the rebels belong to the NPA’s Guerilla Front 53.
Local officials said members of the NPA’s Guerilla Front 56 also joined the fray.
'NPAs planned to rob passing vehicles'
Barangay officials told reporters the original plan of the NPAs was to rob passengers of public conveyances of money, but got spooked by the unexpected arrival of the PSG team on board two vehicles en route to Bukidnon.
The NPAs shot dead a local member of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit named Ben Pajia who unsuspectingly approached to check on the gunshots that reverberated through the scene.
Galgo said villagers also reported the abduction by the NPAs of a certain Rogelio Genon, a civilian agent of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group residing in Barangay Katipunan, as they fled sensing that soldiers from nearby detachments were closing in.
The rebels were last seen retreating to mountain ranges at the border of Bukidnon and Davao del Sur.
CPP orders more attacks in response to martial law extension
The attack comes after the Communist Party of the Philippines called on the NPA to "carry out armed counteractions and offensives across the country to defeat the Mindanao martial law and nationwide all-out war" on Tuesday. This was in response to a government plan to extend martial law in Mindanao until the end of 2017.
Martial law in Mindanao, the CPP claimed, is directed at the New People’s Army and the CPP-led "forces" as much as the Moro people, saying offensives against the NPA have increased over the past two months like alleged aerial bombings and shellings in North Cotabato, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and other areas in Mindanao.
The CPP said that, across Mindanao, "at least 10,000 people have been forced to evacuate in less than two months in addition to the 410,000 evacuees from Marawi and nearby towns."
The Palace, which "strongly condemned" the Arakan incident, said it is unclear whether this will affect peace talks with the CPP-NPA-National Democratic Front of the Philippines. Talks have been on and off since earlier this year when the NPA announced it would cancel a ceasefire with the government.
"Let us wait for the president’s advice and directive on the matter," Abella said.
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