NPA claims ambush on Binalbagan cops

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Mount Cansermon Command-New People’s Army (MCC-NPA) admitted to the ambush against some personnel of Binalbagan Municipal Police Station in Negros Occidental last Sunday.

In a statement, Ka Dionesio Magbuelas, MCC-NPA spokesperson, said they carried out the ambush against the policemen at Sitio Candida, Barangay Biao, which is less than a kilometer away from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) forward base at Sitio Elinita and few kilometers away from another Philippine Army troop position at Sitio Bulwang.

The ambush which later led to an encounter after cops retaliated, left two officers and a 15-year-old bystander wounded.

The wounded policemen and the civilian are now out of danger.

The driver of the patrol car, who is also a policeman, was saved by his cellular phone when the bullet hit his phone that was placed on his chest, according to Police Major Ellendie Rebusquillo, Binalbagan town police chief.

The ambush happened while 10 policemen on board a patrol car were on their way to a village where a man was found dead.

Rebusquillo suspects that the reported incident might be linked to the planned attack on the police.

But he said they need more evidence to establish such claim.

For the NPA, the ambush was launched as an “appropriate” counter-offensive response as Philippine National Police (PNP) are being use in counter-insurgency operations, thus considering them as a legitimate military target, Magbuelas said.

Magbuelas also said that the ambush is also the answer to the resounding cry of the people for justice for all the victims of “state-sanctioned murders and extra-judicial killings” against unarmed civilians and activists and hors de combat NPA fighters and unarmed and defenseless Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) cadres.

He added that the MCC will launch more frequent tactical offensives.

For his part, Rebusquillo said they will have a conference with the provincial police office to assess the situation if there’s a need to add more personnel in the town especially since the election is approaching.

Meanwhile, the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) condemned the attack on the members of the Binalbagan Municipal Police Station.

In a statement released on Monday to the media Police Colonel Leo Pamittan, Nocppo director, expressed strong condemnation to the “treacherous and cowardly” acts of the rebels.

He added that violence causes alarm and fear among peace-loving people of Barangay Biao.

Pamittan visited the town after the incident to check the wounded cops and ordered that immediate assistance be provided to them.