3 policemen dead in clash; no talks in Rizal kidnapping

THE NEW People’s Army (NPA) killed three policemen Monday in an ambush in Mindanao, police said.

The policemen were on the outskirts of the town of Bansalan in Davao del Sur province when they were attacked by an undetermined number of rebels, officials in Manila said in a statement.

The dead were Bansalan’s police chief Senior Inspector Remelex Mabalot and two of his men, while a fourth was wounded, the statement noted, adding that pursuit operations were ongoing.

Monday’s attack came a day after the NPA said the government had refused to negotiate for three other policemen held hostage after a clash in Rizal province, east of Metro Manila last month.

Meanwhile, the military is maintaining its no-negotiation policy for the release of three abducted police personnel in Rizal despite the NPA’s calls for negotiations and to stop military operations against them.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto C. Torres, Jr. told Defense reporters in Camp Aguinaldo yesterday, "If we negotiate with them, that is tantamount to condoning their acts. Our mandate is to go after them, to run after them, and not to negotiate with them."

He said information gathering and rescue operations will continue.

"We have forces in Rizal. The 202nd Brigade is in charge of the forces in some parts of Southern Luzon, and in Rizal we have the 16th Infantry Battalion which is working closely with the PNP (Philippine National Police) Rizal," he said.

Inspector Rex Cuntapay, Police Officer (PO) 1 Marvin Agasen and PO1 Alberto Umali were captured by the NPA on Jan. 3.

National Democratic Front-Rizal spokesman Arman Guerrero said in a statement yesterday that the military operations must be stopped as these are endangering the captives’ lives.

He claimed the kidnapped policemen have sought for negotiations for their safe release as well as a halt in military operations.

The NPA is the armed unit of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion against government since 1969.

The group earlier warned of stepped-up attacks against government targets.

Surrenderee

In a related development, a self-confessed communist rebel has surrendered to Kananga Mayor Elmer C. Codilla last week.

Armando "Ka Manny" Mercado, a resident of Kananga, Leyte province, was the 10th rebel to surrender to the mayor. He received P15,000 as financial assistance from the municipal government.

"I will use this money to till my farm," Mr. Mercado said in Cebuano. He was with the NPA for 18 years.

Lt. Col. Henry Bumiltac, commander of the 19th Infantry Battalion, said a total of 70 communist rebels in the northern part of Leyte have surrendered. He urged other rebels to surrender peacefully.