On August 28, 2008, the families, friends and relatives of the victims of Leyte mass killing commemorated the second anniversary of discovery of the victims’ mass grave. The case still remains a mystery up to this time. Until now the perpetrators of the heinous crime remain unpunished. The CPP and the AFP are still pointing their fingers at each other for the killing although it is generally conceded that there could be no other group or groups that are capable of committing such dastardly act. At least 100 human remains were exhumed in Sitio Sapang Dako, Barangay Kaulisihan in Inopacan, Leyte on August 26, 2006.
In Palawan, there were several killings of reported former NPA members and suspected military informers operating in the province. According to the Western Command, the victims were surrendeerees and suspected to be working as military informers. They were the following:
1.Paquito “PAKING” NOBLEZA, gunned down on May 13, 2004 in Bgy New Agutaya, San Vicente
2.Joel NAVIA, gunned down on March 05, 2003 in Bgy Concepcion, Puerto Princesa City;
3.Agustin “Tatay HUSTING” JAVAREZ, abducted and killed on January 11, 2003 in Bgy Marufinas, Puerto Princesa City;
4.Roger ALIMPIPINIG, gunned down on February 22, 2003 in Bgy Abaroan, Roxas;
5.Augusto ENGLIS @ KA AGOS, gunned down on November 19, 2002 in Bgy Babuyan, Puerto Princesa City;
6.Roming CABALLERO, gunned down on April 09, 2001 in Bgy Calategas, Narra; and
7. Roding CEMANEZ @ KA MORRIS, killed on April 2001 in Bgy Princess Urduja, Narra
For now, even without the aid of the court or an investigative body, speculation can be made as who the real culprits are since both the CPP and the AFP are capable of carrying out such crime. However, suspicion can be drawn why until today there is no effort on the part of human rights advocators such as the militant KARAPATAN to rally and initiate investigation on the issue if the military are indeed responsible for the massacre? Why they have been in silence since the discovery of the mass grave? They have been issuing statements disowning the crime but that is not enough to expunge suspicion that the communist rebels are not involved in the crime. KARAPATAN is a militant human rights advocate whose political lines closely run parallel to those of the local communist movement.
It has been strongly suspected that the communist rebels themselves did the killing. This suspicion can be substantiated by the established facts that the movement had previously undertaken multiple killing or “purging” to cleanse its own ranks from alleged “traitors” including the so-called “deep penetration agents” who had betrayed their comrades to the enemy. There is a big probability that the Leyte mass grave could be part of the movement’s alleged cleansing operations in the Visayas. As previously disclosed, the CPP/NPA reportedly undertook similar act when it implemented OPLANs Zombie, Cadena de Amor and Missing Link in Southern Tagalog; Ahos in Mindanao; and, Olympia in Metro Manila. The Party’s denial of “purging” was, however, refuted by previous testimonies and claims of former NPAs who returned to the fold of the law because of fear that they might become the next victim of CPP’s “purging” operations against suspected government’s deep penetration agents. The CPP’s alleged internal and widespread purgings are no longer a secret nowadays.
14.8.08
Military bares list of CPP-NPA-NDF “cleansing” victims
By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
6.6.06
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte – The victims of the purging of the CPP-NPA-NDF Southern Leyte Front are not only from Inopacan but also in the different barangays of Baybay, Leyte.
This was learned from Lt. Col. Mario Lacurum who explained that the Garden which is how the NPA called the place is in the boundary of the towns of Inopacan, Baybay and Mahaplag, Leyte. This is the typical location of the communist rebels, to locate in the boundary of several towns where they have several escape routes.
Lt. Col Lacurom of the 43rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army observed that many of the victims have the same family names which reveal that they were relatives. Per information gathered from former NPA members, some of those who abducted the victims were their own relatives. It is really horrible what the NPA rebels did to the very same people they pledged to help and protect. Instead of making the lives of families easier, they destroyed them to the extent of making a member of the family betray the other members.
The victims whose names were given by the relatives or the residents or the NPA surrenderees some of whom saw how they were tortured to death by burning plastic and allowing it to melt on the bodies of the victims or by jumping on their breast, are from Barangays Monterico, Cabungaan, Maypatag, Ampihanon, Pansagan and Amguhan in the municipality of Baybay and Barangay Camansi in Inopacan town.
The partial list given to PIA includes the 21 purging victims from Barangay Monterico, Baybay, Leyte, namely: Domingo Eras who was identified by his brother, Leonarda Eras, Salvador Aviola, Juanita Aviola, Avelino Ayag, Victor Pasuhil, Concepcion Danguilles, Dome Napoles, Paquito Tronueva, Carlos Tronueva, Mode Seda, Tito Ayoc, Necoy Catibo, Mancito Solirmo, Constancio Fernandes, Normalito Eras, Marcia Abenoja, Rafael Pantoliaga, Anastacio Mayegue, Pedro Alberco and a certain Poncing.
From Barangay Cabungaan, Baybay, Leyte, the list of the victims include Leonardo Ballino, Lorenzo Pulta, Cirilo Albarico, Dicong Abilay, Felix Capillanes, Restituto Ejoc, Carlos Espejo, Jovencio Ballino, Rodolfo Marra, Angel Jomoc, Wenie Edace, Segundino Estellero, Balbino Rim, Reynaldo Capillanes, Roman Dedace, Apolonio Saldaga, Isias Laguardia, Rogelio Daniel, Toring Roluna, Zacarias Laguardia, Netoy Garciano and Floro Barcos.
The names of six victims from Barangay Maypatag, Baybay, Leyte were Tebora Prado, Zosemo Prado, Danilo Macajeto, Inying Tenaja, Ruel Tenaja and Gorio Tenaja.
From Barangay Amguhan, Baybay, Leyte, the list includes the following name of victims: Guellermo Daging, Junior Umbay, Junior Mellapes, Candoy Tenaja, Anatalio Marona, Zacarias Casil, Alfredo Umbay, Domingo Albarico, Lucricio Umbay, Jemmy Roluna, Patricio Devocion and Juanito Sayson.
Jose Cabonegro, Marcelino Tayabas, Danny Limpios and Tonny Baron are the names of the victims from Barangay Ampihanon, Baybay, Leyte while Netoy Garciano is the only victim from Pagsagan, Baybay, Leyte.
From Barangay Camansi in Inopacan, Leyte, three names were listed: Crispin Calmacio, Casito Casundo and a certain Bandoy.
The remains of the 67 victims exhumed from the Garden now lie in state at the San Isidro Labrador Catholic Chapel of Hibod-Hibod, Sogod, Southern Leyte.
6.6.06
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte – The victims of the purging of the CPP-NPA-NDF Southern Leyte Front are not only from Inopacan but also in the different barangays of Baybay, Leyte.
This was learned from Lt. Col. Mario Lacurum who explained that the Garden which is how the NPA called the place is in the boundary of the towns of Inopacan, Baybay and Mahaplag, Leyte. This is the typical location of the communist rebels, to locate in the boundary of several towns where they have several escape routes.
Lt. Col Lacurom of the 43rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army observed that many of the victims have the same family names which reveal that they were relatives. Per information gathered from former NPA members, some of those who abducted the victims were their own relatives. It is really horrible what the NPA rebels did to the very same people they pledged to help and protect. Instead of making the lives of families easier, they destroyed them to the extent of making a member of the family betray the other members.
The victims whose names were given by the relatives or the residents or the NPA surrenderees some of whom saw how they were tortured to death by burning plastic and allowing it to melt on the bodies of the victims or by jumping on their breast, are from Barangays Monterico, Cabungaan, Maypatag, Ampihanon, Pansagan and Amguhan in the municipality of Baybay and Barangay Camansi in Inopacan town.
The partial list given to PIA includes the 21 purging victims from Barangay Monterico, Baybay, Leyte, namely: Domingo Eras who was identified by his brother, Leonarda Eras, Salvador Aviola, Juanita Aviola, Avelino Ayag, Victor Pasuhil, Concepcion Danguilles, Dome Napoles, Paquito Tronueva, Carlos Tronueva, Mode Seda, Tito Ayoc, Necoy Catibo, Mancito Solirmo, Constancio Fernandes, Normalito Eras, Marcia Abenoja, Rafael Pantoliaga, Anastacio Mayegue, Pedro Alberco and a certain Poncing.
From Barangay Cabungaan, Baybay, Leyte, the list of the victims include Leonardo Ballino, Lorenzo Pulta, Cirilo Albarico, Dicong Abilay, Felix Capillanes, Restituto Ejoc, Carlos Espejo, Jovencio Ballino, Rodolfo Marra, Angel Jomoc, Wenie Edace, Segundino Estellero, Balbino Rim, Reynaldo Capillanes, Roman Dedace, Apolonio Saldaga, Isias Laguardia, Rogelio Daniel, Toring Roluna, Zacarias Laguardia, Netoy Garciano and Floro Barcos.
The names of six victims from Barangay Maypatag, Baybay, Leyte were Tebora Prado, Zosemo Prado, Danilo Macajeto, Inying Tenaja, Ruel Tenaja and Gorio Tenaja.
From Barangay Amguhan, Baybay, Leyte, the list includes the following name of victims: Guellermo Daging, Junior Umbay, Junior Mellapes, Candoy Tenaja, Anatalio Marona, Zacarias Casil, Alfredo Umbay, Domingo Albarico, Lucricio Umbay, Jemmy Roluna, Patricio Devocion and Juanito Sayson.
Jose Cabonegro, Marcelino Tayabas, Danny Limpios and Tonny Baron are the names of the victims from Barangay Ampihanon, Baybay, Leyte while Netoy Garciano is the only victim from Pagsagan, Baybay, Leyte.
From Barangay Camansi in Inopacan, Leyte, three names were listed: Crispin Calmacio, Casito Casundo and a certain Bandoy.
The remains of the 67 victims exhumed from the Garden now lie in state at the San Isidro Labrador Catholic Chapel of Hibod-Hibod, Sogod, Southern Leyte.
12.8.08
Filipinos' search for missing may end in mass graves
By Manny Mogato
Reuters Limited
INOPACAN, Philippines, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The mountainous forests of Leyte island in the central Philippines look pristine from the air, but they hide a terrible secret.
Below the canopy of trees, shallow graves with the skeletal remains of 67 people have been unearthed. Up to 300 bodies could be buried in the sticky mud, the military says.
The unidentified victims were murdered in the 1980s, purged by the communist New People's Army (NPA) on suspicion they were government spies or traitors to the Maoist cause, said Colonel Allan Ragpala, a brigade commander on Leyte island.
"We discovered these graves by accident," he told dozens of generals, local officials and journalists during an Aug. 31 visit to the site, about 400 km (250 miles) southeast of Manila.
"This was like the killing fields in Cambodia on a much smaller scale."
Marcelina Tronoyba said she was 12 years old when her mother answered the door one night in 1985. Several armed men burst in and took the woman away for what they said was a brief chat.
That was the last time Tronoyba saw her mother.
"We're not sure yet whether she was among those buried here," said Tronoyba, who now has eight children of her own. "We're still hoping and praying she is still alive somewhere."
TATTERED SHIRT
The NPA leadership has admitted killing and torturing thousands of its members in the late 1980s during a split over ideology in an insurgency that has raged across the developing and largely rural Southeast Asian country since the late 1960s.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has declared "all-out war" against the communist rebels to try to end a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people and kept investors wary.
The government says the NPA is in the midst of a fresh purge and has murdered dozens of left-wing activists this year.
The communists deny the allegation. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, are concerned that the military and police are behind the shootings. Many of the recent victims were members of groups viewed by the military as NPA fronts.
The mass graves were discovered in the Sapang Daku mountains amid these accusations -- and after an alleged coup plot in February against Arroyo by rogue soldiers, political foes and communists.
Ragpala said several residents and former communist rebels told the military about the graves after hundreds of soldiers began combing the area in a major push against the NPA.
After a week of digging at the end of August, soldiers and villagers had exhumed 67 skeletons from mountain slopes reached by a five-hour trek on narrow jungle trails.
A forensics team from the local police has helped to gather bones to establish identities, which could take months through DNA testing in the Philippines or the United States.
"Based on our initial findings, these graves were more than 20 years old," said Angel Cordero, head of the forensics team. "Most of these skulls were men, three were women and one was from a minor. They died from either hack or stab wounds."
To journalists flown to the site in army helicopters, Cordero pointed out some fractured skulls showing signs they were hit by blunt objects, sharp knives or razors. Some of the victims were blindfolded.
"We found nine skulls wrapped by tattered cotton cloth and nylon material," Cordero said. "In some of the graves, only 2 to 3 feet deep, we found as many as five or six skeletal remains."
Domingo Eras, a 43-year-old farmer from nearby Baybay town, was shocked to see a tattered shirt that was very similar to the one worn by his older brother, an NPA rebel, the last time the two saw each other in 1985.
"That day when armed men took my brother away flashed back to my mind," said Eras, who acknowledged having sympathised with the rebels in the 1980s.
Eras, who claimed he lost a younger brother in a battle with soldiers in the 1990s, said people in the area had heard about the graves, known among the rebels as "The Garden", but were not sure whether it was army propaganda.
LOOKING FOR CLOSURE
General Hermogenes Esperon, the military's chief of staff, said the mass graves he saw on Leyte were similar to those found in the 1990s in the provinces of Quezon and Laguna, south of Manila, and on the southern island of Mindanao.
Rebels, sympathisers and ordinary civilians were kidnapped, tortured and killed by special teams of NPA guerrillas when leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines launched the purge in the 1980s.
"We can only make estimates but we believe nearly 2,000 people were killed in the most animalistic, barbaric and gruesome methods by these godless rebels," Esperon said.
The discovery of the graves was helping people see through the rebel deceptions and boosting efforts to defeat the communist insurgency by 2010, he said.
Peace talks, brokered by Norway, stalled in 2004 when Manila refused to help persuade the United States and some European nations to remove the NPA from terrorism blacklists.
"We grieve with those who continue to search for their missing loved ones," Esperon said. "We hope they could find the closure they've been looking for in the unmarked graves here."
In the 1990s, Zacarias Piedad rose to lead a 40-member NPA squad in the area but turned himself in to soldiers when his comrades tried to kill him three times.
"This area we used to call 'The Garden' was off-limits to all rebels except the most senior cadres," said Piedad, who now works for the local government.
Between sobs, Virginia Baron told of her father being taken when armed men rounded up residents in her village in 1985.
"We were told he would return to us in just three days," she told the gathering of local and military officials inspecting the graves. "We're still waiting for him to come home." (With reporting by Carmel Crimmins)
Reuters Limited
INOPACAN, Philippines, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The mountainous forests of Leyte island in the central Philippines look pristine from the air, but they hide a terrible secret.
Below the canopy of trees, shallow graves with the skeletal remains of 67 people have been unearthed. Up to 300 bodies could be buried in the sticky mud, the military says.
The unidentified victims were murdered in the 1980s, purged by the communist New People's Army (NPA) on suspicion they were government spies or traitors to the Maoist cause, said Colonel Allan Ragpala, a brigade commander on Leyte island.
"We discovered these graves by accident," he told dozens of generals, local officials and journalists during an Aug. 31 visit to the site, about 400 km (250 miles) southeast of Manila.
"This was like the killing fields in Cambodia on a much smaller scale."
Marcelina Tronoyba said she was 12 years old when her mother answered the door one night in 1985. Several armed men burst in and took the woman away for what they said was a brief chat.
That was the last time Tronoyba saw her mother.
"We're not sure yet whether she was among those buried here," said Tronoyba, who now has eight children of her own. "We're still hoping and praying she is still alive somewhere."
TATTERED SHIRT
The NPA leadership has admitted killing and torturing thousands of its members in the late 1980s during a split over ideology in an insurgency that has raged across the developing and largely rural Southeast Asian country since the late 1960s.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has declared "all-out war" against the communist rebels to try to end a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people and kept investors wary.
The government says the NPA is in the midst of a fresh purge and has murdered dozens of left-wing activists this year.
The communists deny the allegation. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, are concerned that the military and police are behind the shootings. Many of the recent victims were members of groups viewed by the military as NPA fronts.
The mass graves were discovered in the Sapang Daku mountains amid these accusations -- and after an alleged coup plot in February against Arroyo by rogue soldiers, political foes and communists.
Ragpala said several residents and former communist rebels told the military about the graves after hundreds of soldiers began combing the area in a major push against the NPA.
After a week of digging at the end of August, soldiers and villagers had exhumed 67 skeletons from mountain slopes reached by a five-hour trek on narrow jungle trails.
A forensics team from the local police has helped to gather bones to establish identities, which could take months through DNA testing in the Philippines or the United States.
"Based on our initial findings, these graves were more than 20 years old," said Angel Cordero, head of the forensics team. "Most of these skulls were men, three were women and one was from a minor. They died from either hack or stab wounds."
To journalists flown to the site in army helicopters, Cordero pointed out some fractured skulls showing signs they were hit by blunt objects, sharp knives or razors. Some of the victims were blindfolded.
"We found nine skulls wrapped by tattered cotton cloth and nylon material," Cordero said. "In some of the graves, only 2 to 3 feet deep, we found as many as five or six skeletal remains."
Domingo Eras, a 43-year-old farmer from nearby Baybay town, was shocked to see a tattered shirt that was very similar to the one worn by his older brother, an NPA rebel, the last time the two saw each other in 1985.
"That day when armed men took my brother away flashed back to my mind," said Eras, who acknowledged having sympathised with the rebels in the 1980s.
Eras, who claimed he lost a younger brother in a battle with soldiers in the 1990s, said people in the area had heard about the graves, known among the rebels as "The Garden", but were not sure whether it was army propaganda.
LOOKING FOR CLOSURE
General Hermogenes Esperon, the military's chief of staff, said the mass graves he saw on Leyte were similar to those found in the 1990s in the provinces of Quezon and Laguna, south of Manila, and on the southern island of Mindanao.
Rebels, sympathisers and ordinary civilians were kidnapped, tortured and killed by special teams of NPA guerrillas when leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines launched the purge in the 1980s.
"We can only make estimates but we believe nearly 2,000 people were killed in the most animalistic, barbaric and gruesome methods by these godless rebels," Esperon said.
The discovery of the graves was helping people see through the rebel deceptions and boosting efforts to defeat the communist insurgency by 2010, he said.
Peace talks, brokered by Norway, stalled in 2004 when Manila refused to help persuade the United States and some European nations to remove the NPA from terrorism blacklists.
"We grieve with those who continue to search for their missing loved ones," Esperon said. "We hope they could find the closure they've been looking for in the unmarked graves here."
In the 1990s, Zacarias Piedad rose to lead a 40-member NPA squad in the area but turned himself in to soldiers when his comrades tried to kill him three times.
"This area we used to call 'The Garden' was off-limits to all rebels except the most senior cadres," said Piedad, who now works for the local government.
Between sobs, Virginia Baron told of her father being taken when armed men rounded up residents in her village in 1985.
"We were told he would return to us in just three days," she told the gathering of local and military officials inspecting the graves. "We're still waiting for him to come home." (With reporting by Carmel Crimmins)
Reds launch another ambush in Palawan
THE New People's Army (NPA) launched another major offense on the duration of the Arroyo government yuletide season truce with the communists, ambushing Marine troops anew in Palawan province Saturday night.
This is the fourth offense to be staged by the rebels during the government truce. The first was when the communists killed three unarmed Marine soldier also in an ambush in Palawan.
Marine spokesman Jonas Lumawag said the latest rebel attack against troops from the 69th Marine Company occurred at 8 p.m. Saturday in Barangay Dumarao in Roxas town, Palawan.
He said the troops were on a re-supply mission to Puerto Princesa City when an undetermined number of rebels waylaid them.
A soldier was wounded in the ambush and was declared out of danger by physicians, said Lumawag.
Lumawag said the troops were able to put up a fight against their attackers who withdrew after sustaining undetermined number of casualties.
Pursuit operations are ongoing against the fleeing rebels, he said.
The attack came three days after the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) marked its 39th foundation anniversary.
NPA rebels traditionally celebrate the anniversary CPP -- the NPA's political wing -- with attacks.
Also, the attack came as the communist movement is due to observe starting Monday a two-day New Year truce with the government.
The communists have observed a two-day Christmas truce, starting last December 24.
The Arroyo government has declared a 22-day ceasefire with the rebels, starting last December 16.
Hours after the ceasefire took effect, NPA rebels ambushed three Marine soldiers in San Vicente town, Palawan, killing all of them.
The rebels have staged two other attacks during the government truce, including the raid of a police station in Eastern Samar that left a militiaman dead last December 23.
The rebels carted away a cache of firearms from the police station.
Last December 26, NPA rebels burned two heavy equipment involved in the construction of market roads in San Francisco town in Quezon due to the failure of the town mayor, who owns the equipment, to pay revolutionary tax to the rebels. (VR/Sunnex)
This is the fourth offense to be staged by the rebels during the government truce. The first was when the communists killed three unarmed Marine soldier also in an ambush in Palawan.
Marine spokesman Jonas Lumawag said the latest rebel attack against troops from the 69th Marine Company occurred at 8 p.m. Saturday in Barangay Dumarao in Roxas town, Palawan.
He said the troops were on a re-supply mission to Puerto Princesa City when an undetermined number of rebels waylaid them.
A soldier was wounded in the ambush and was declared out of danger by physicians, said Lumawag.
Lumawag said the troops were able to put up a fight against their attackers who withdrew after sustaining undetermined number of casualties.
Pursuit operations are ongoing against the fleeing rebels, he said.
The attack came three days after the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) marked its 39th foundation anniversary.
NPA rebels traditionally celebrate the anniversary CPP -- the NPA's political wing -- with attacks.
Also, the attack came as the communist movement is due to observe starting Monday a two-day New Year truce with the government.
The communists have observed a two-day Christmas truce, starting last December 24.
The Arroyo government has declared a 22-day ceasefire with the rebels, starting last December 16.
Hours after the ceasefire took effect, NPA rebels ambushed three Marine soldiers in San Vicente town, Palawan, killing all of them.
The rebels have staged two other attacks during the government truce, including the raid of a police station in Eastern Samar that left a militiaman dead last December 23.
The rebels carted away a cache of firearms from the police station.
Last December 26, NPA rebels burned two heavy equipment involved in the construction of market roads in San Francisco town in Quezon due to the failure of the town mayor, who owns the equipment, to pay revolutionary tax to the rebels. (VR/Sunnex)
Cop, 2 children die in NPA ambush in Palawan
By Marlon Ramos
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 02:28pm (Mla time) 08/21/2007
CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna -- Two children, 13 and 7, and a member of an anti-insurgency police unit were killed while three other persons were critically wounded when suspected communist rebels ambushed a police vehicle in Taytay town, Palawan afternoon, police said Friday.
Senior Superintendent Dennis Peña, Palawan police director, identified the casualties as Police Officer 3 Saturnino Lazo, Jennifer Cortez, 13, and her sister Anne-anne.
Wounded were Police Officer 1 Walter Gapuz, the children’s mother Nilda Cortez, and another sister, Beverly, 9.
Ludegario Cortez, the children’s father, escaped unscathed.
Cortez and family had hitched a ride with the policemen before the ambush.
Peña said two other policemen who were earlier reported missing have surfaced and have reported to their unit, the 413rd Provincial Police Mobile Group (PPMG), also in Taytay town.
Police Officers 2 Johnnyver Abanto and Edgardo Sanchez were found by village officials in a ravine near the ambush site.
“Apparently, my men hid and stayed there until they were found by the barangay [village] officials. They then immediately went to a nearby detachment of the Philippine Marines in Taytay,” he said in a mobile phone interview with the Inquirer.
Peña condemned the attack, saying it only proved the real character of the New People’s Army (NPA).
He also said that the band of rebels who staged the ambuscade could have been composed of young NPA fighters “as shown by what they did.”
He said it was uncommon for the NPA rebels to fire at government troops if it endangered a nearby civilian population.
Peña also said it was “uncharacteristic” for the guerrillas not to wipe out their targets when they are able to control the higher ground in an ambush site.
The rebels also did not gather the assault rifles of the slain and wounded police officers.
Peña said that before the attack, the policemen had driven to Barangay Calauag to check on a report that residents had found an abandoned motorcycle in the area. When they arrived in the village, they located the motorcycle and loaded it into their police vehicle.
On their way back to their detachment, the policemen chanced upon Cortez and his family, who asked to be given a ride to a nearby village. But before the family could reach their destination, around 15 to 20 suspected communist rebels fired at the police vehicle.
Peña said Anne-anne was hit on the head and killed instantly.
“The girl was beyond recognition as bullets literally shattered her head,” he said.
Peña said Lazo was able to fire back at the rebels despite his bullet wounds.
A few minutes later, the rebels retreated, leaving behind the firearms of the slain policemen, he added.
Peña said the police had already airlifted the wounded to a hospital in Puerto Princesa City.
He said they are still investigating if the motorcycle was intentionally abandoned in the area by the NPA as part of their plan to attack the government troops.
He also said that the village official who supposedly phoned the police detachment to report the discovery of the abandoned motorcycle denied that he had called for police assistance.
“It could be part of the plot of the NPA to ambush our policemen,” Peña said.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 02:28pm (Mla time) 08/21/2007
CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna -- Two children, 13 and 7, and a member of an anti-insurgency police unit were killed while three other persons were critically wounded when suspected communist rebels ambushed a police vehicle in Taytay town, Palawan afternoon, police said Friday.
Senior Superintendent Dennis Peña, Palawan police director, identified the casualties as Police Officer 3 Saturnino Lazo, Jennifer Cortez, 13, and her sister Anne-anne.
Wounded were Police Officer 1 Walter Gapuz, the children’s mother Nilda Cortez, and another sister, Beverly, 9.
Ludegario Cortez, the children’s father, escaped unscathed.
Cortez and family had hitched a ride with the policemen before the ambush.
Peña said two other policemen who were earlier reported missing have surfaced and have reported to their unit, the 413rd Provincial Police Mobile Group (PPMG), also in Taytay town.
Police Officers 2 Johnnyver Abanto and Edgardo Sanchez were found by village officials in a ravine near the ambush site.
“Apparently, my men hid and stayed there until they were found by the barangay [village] officials. They then immediately went to a nearby detachment of the Philippine Marines in Taytay,” he said in a mobile phone interview with the Inquirer.
Peña condemned the attack, saying it only proved the real character of the New People’s Army (NPA).
He also said that the band of rebels who staged the ambuscade could have been composed of young NPA fighters “as shown by what they did.”
He said it was uncommon for the NPA rebels to fire at government troops if it endangered a nearby civilian population.
Peña also said it was “uncharacteristic” for the guerrillas not to wipe out their targets when they are able to control the higher ground in an ambush site.
The rebels also did not gather the assault rifles of the slain and wounded police officers.
Peña said that before the attack, the policemen had driven to Barangay Calauag to check on a report that residents had found an abandoned motorcycle in the area. When they arrived in the village, they located the motorcycle and loaded it into their police vehicle.
On their way back to their detachment, the policemen chanced upon Cortez and his family, who asked to be given a ride to a nearby village. But before the family could reach their destination, around 15 to 20 suspected communist rebels fired at the police vehicle.
Peña said Anne-anne was hit on the head and killed instantly.
“The girl was beyond recognition as bullets literally shattered her head,” he said.
Peña said Lazo was able to fire back at the rebels despite his bullet wounds.
A few minutes later, the rebels retreated, leaving behind the firearms of the slain policemen, he added.
Peña said the police had already airlifted the wounded to a hospital in Puerto Princesa City.
He said they are still investigating if the motorcycle was intentionally abandoned in the area by the NPA as part of their plan to attack the government troops.
He also said that the village official who supposedly phoned the police detachment to report the discovery of the abandoned motorcycle denied that he had called for police assistance.
“It could be part of the plot of the NPA to ambush our policemen,” Peña said.
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