6 Army troopers killed in Samar ambush

TACLOBAN CITY — An Army lieutenant and five of his men en route to a remote village in Western Samar to pursue the surrender of a communist guerrilla were killed in an ambush, officials said yesterday.

The soldiers were traveling through Western Samar’s Calbiga town Friday afternoon when attacked by 35 fully armed New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan said.

Palparan, commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division based at Camp Lukban Maulong in Catbalogan, Samar, admitted the slain soldiers committed security lapses in going to the area, and were apparently tricked into believing there would be a surrender.

The six troopers died on the spot, and the rebels immediately fled.

Col. Rey Lanuzo, commanding officer of the 62nd Infantry Battalion, identified the slain soldiers as Lt. Williamson Tan of Zamboanga City, S/Sgt. Raul Cortina, Sgt. Lemuel Introlizo, a Corporal Garrido, a Private Anob and Pvt. Dionisio Acanto, all of the 6n2 IB based in Calbiga town.

"Hindi kami naka-score. Naunahan ang tropa ko (We failed to score against the enemy. My troops were beaten to the draw," Lanuzo told The STAR.

Palparan condemned the killing and warned that the military will soon launch massive pursuit operations against the rebels who staged the ambush.

He said the number of guerrillas in the area has increased as a result of massive recruitment operations.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Both have been tagged as "foreign terrorist organizations" by the United States and European countries.

Last year, the rebels suspended peace talks with the government to protest Manila’s refusal to push US and European officials to remove them from terror watch lists.

The military estimates that as of last year, the NPA had 8,240 men. Despite military offensives, the Communist Party claims it has a presence in nearly 70 of the Philippines’ 79 provinces. — Miriam Garcia Desacada