CAFGU killed in ambush

CEBU, Philippines — A member of the Philippine Army's Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) was shot dead after he was ambushed by suspected New People's Army (NPA) rebels Saturday in Santa Catalina town, Negros Oriental.

The victim was identified as 46-year-old Bobby Sarino, a member of the CAFGU's Cogon Patrol Base assigned in southern Negros Oriental.

According to the initial investigation by the Santa Catalina Police, Sarino was on his way home in Sitio Bacnet in Barangay Nagbinlod at around 6 a.m. when he was waylaid by four suspected NPA members.

Sarino was then shot several times and suffered four gunshot wounds in his body and two in his head. He tried to run but the suspects continued shooting at him until he was killed, assistant investigator PO1 Elizer Enrique told The FREEMAN.

Sarino's murder prompted his fellow CAFGU members to conduct a hot pursuit operation against the suspected NPA rebels. At around 1:40 p.m. Saturday, the Cogon Patrol Base encountered around 30 armed persons. A firefight then ensued for 20 minutes.

Lieutenant Colonel Patricio Tomales, commanding officer of the 15th Infantry Battalion (IB), told The FREEMAN in a phone interview that among the suspected armed Reds were two women and possibly some minors.

"Dunay mga batan-on nga naka-engkwentro sa atong CAFGU," he said, adding that his troops are still verifying the age of the said suspected rebels.

After the firefight, the alleged NPA members immediately withdrew and as of press time, the CAFGU and troops of the 15th IB are still pursuing them.

No casualty was reported on both sides, while several M16 magazines and empty shells were recovered from the encounter site, 303rd Infantry Brigade spokesperson Captain Ruel Llanes said.

For his part, Tomales added that the suspected NPA rebels were allegedly going to ambush Sarino's fellow CAFGU had not the Cogon Patrol Base immediately conducted a pursuit operation.

The ambush-encounter happened as peace talks between the Philippine government and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) were set to resume.

Due to the strong presence of NPA rebels in the province, Police Regional Office-7 Chief Superintendent Robert Quenery has named Negros Oriental a "priority province" for the May 14 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

The PRO-7 will closely monitor Negros Oriental next month, as it is the only province in Central Visayas with many recent insurgency-related incidents, Negros Oriental Police Director Senior Superintendent Edwin Portento previously told reporters.

Santa Catalina has some barangays initially listed as poll hotspots. The poll hotspots in the province range from 62 to 79.

Meanwhile, Llanes said that the 303rd Infantry Brigade will be releasing this week pictures of the journal that troops recovered during an April 16 encounter in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.

The said journal was reportedly written by a Cebuana student who, since her recruitment to the NPA on November 2011, was sexually abused by her comrades. (FREEMAN)