NPA: Sato ambushed for refusal to pay ‘taxes’

Communist rebels operating in Mindoro Occidental have claimed responsibility for the ambush on the convoy of Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato en route to Mamburao town during a campaign sortie, a leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) there said.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo yesterday instructed the government panel in the ongoing peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) in Oslo, Norway to raise the issue of the ambush on Sato with the communist panel.

Officials said Sato suffered a minor injury in the attack in Sta. Cruz town and was airlifted to Manila along with the other victims – a bodyguard, an aide and a local politician. Their injuries were not serious, they said.

Higom Maragang, spokesman for the Lucio de Guzman command of the NPA, said over dzMM radio that NPA fighters ambushed Sato’s convoy because she brought soldiers with her. He said the presence of military personnel in Sato’s convoy instills fear in the people and intimidates them.

"We always tell politicians to avoid bringing armed soldiers and police personnel with them on the campaign trail in areas we control because this causes fear among the people," he said.

Maragang also reiterated his stern warning that local politicians should not bring any armed military or police personnel on campaign sorties in rebel infested areas. He said politicians who ignore this warning will be dealt with accordingly by the NPA.

He said Sato had refused to pay "revolutionary taxes" and had not been permitted by the rebels to campaign in the area. He said if Sato had not brought armed men with her, the guerrillas would have merely talked to her.

"We have warned politicians here in Occidental Mindoro to avoid bringing with them armed goons – military or police – when they campaign, but Mrs. Sato was defiant and even boasted that the military here could not be touched by the New People’s Army," Maragang said.

Sato, 49, is running for governor of Mindoro Occidental province, a post she previously held. Politics in the province has been plagued by vendetta killings in recent years. Communist guerrillas are also active in the region.

Sato belongs to Mrs. Arroyo’s ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party.

The government peace panel, led by Silvestre Bello III, will continue with the next round of peace talks in Oslo from March 29 to April 2, as the Chinese government has yet to reply to the Norwegian government’s request that China host the next round of talks between the Philippine government and communist rebels.

GRP peace panel member Rene Sarmiento said they intend to raise the issue of the attack on Sato in the next round of talks after NPA rebels claimed responsibility for it.

Despite the public admission by the NPA that the Lucio de Guzman command perpetrated the attack on Sato, Sarmiento said the Philippine government will continue its peace negotiations with the CPP-NPA-NDF.

The Arroyo administration scuttled previous formal peace talks with the communist insurgents in 2001 after the NPA assassinated political leaders in various parts of the country. Killed in NPA attacks were Cagayan Rep. Rodolfo Aguinaldo, Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Cesar Platon and Quezon Rep. Marcial Punzalan, among other victims. The killings took place during the campaign period of the 2001 local elections.

In a statement, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said he "strongly condemn(s) this dastardly attack, in broad daylight, on (Sato) and her security escorts Wednesday."

While De Venecia said he was "quite relieved" that Sato and her security escorts "escaped with minor injuries," he has asked Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. "to initiate a thorough, impartial and full investigation, sparing no one, so as to pinpoint those responsible for planning and carrying out (the ambush)."

"If evidence should point to NPA involvement," De Venecia said, "I am ready to call either Prof. Jose Ma. Sison or Luis Jalandoni, leaders of the NDF exiled in the Netherlands, to find out who were behind the attack."

Meanwhile, the attack on Sato underscores the Arroyo administration’s ineptitude at maintaining peace and order, Association of Generals for Poe (AgPoe) spokesman Gen. Edgardo Maristela said.

The ambush of Sato and her convoy, Maristela said, is a "painful illustration" of how far peace and order has deteriorated in large areas of the countryside. — With Marichu Villanueva