Oops, no rebs, no hostages!

With the recent kidnapping in the Dos Palmas resort, no wonder Palawan cops seem jumpy.

Receiving information that communist rebels were supposedly holed up in a mining firm in Narra town with several hostages last Friday, local policemen swooped down on the place.

With intricate planning, the cops handily captured the compound of the Trident Norsophil Mining Co. without firing a single shot and with no casualty.

Unfortunately, they found no rebels or the supposed hostages, except for two nervous security guards whom the police assault force caught by surprise.

"Obviously, the entire hostage story was invented, but we are not taking any chances," said Chief Superintendent Domingo Reyes, Southern Tagalog police director.

The information was relayed by one Myrna Alcaide who, for unknown reasons, claimed that 30 rebels had swooped down on the mining firm, taking her and her son and other people hostage. She claimed she was freed to relay the rebels’ ransom demand. — Jaime Laude