Senior Superintendent Joel Goltiao said six soldiers and policemen and five civilians were killed in the NPA’s "new wave of terror." Six rebels also died in the ensuing firefights.
He said the casualty toll represented a 59 percent increase over the previous week’s figure. The incidents involved seven encounters, three ambuscades, two raids, two harassments, three liquidations, five arsons, three shootings and one extortion.
Since Dec. 15, the PNP said 17 people have been killed and 18 others have been wounded in NPA atrocities nationwide.
The most recent casualty was Vice Mayor Eduardo Durante of Burdeos, Quezon who was gunned down by rebels while waiting for a ferry ride last Jan. 9.
In a separate incident, Mayor Armando Guerrero of Gigmoto, Catanduanes, along with two aides, was wounded when about 100 guerrillas stormed his house.
Goltiao said the NPA has stepped up its offensives to project an image of strength and presence in some areas where it extorts money from political candidates in the guise of "permit-to-campaign fees."
The renewed NPA attacks have prompted the PNP and the Armed Forces to alert their units nationwide, especially in remote and isolated communities.
The security alert heightened when insurgents attacked a military detachment guarding a coal-fired power plant operated by the state-run National Power Corp. in Calaca, Batangas. Four Air Force soldiers were killed in the assault.
Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, Armed Forces spokesman, said the military is now deluged with requests for security escorts from candidates who fear for their lives in the run-up to the May 10 polls. The official campaign period begins on Feb. 10.
Lucero said these candidates, mostly in Bicol, the Visayas and Mindanao, cited threats from communist rebels and private armed groups.
He said all requests have been forwarded to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) which, under the law, has the sole power to grant them.
"Under normal circumstances, we can provide two military escorts per requesting candidate," he said.
Lucero, however, said a five-military security group can be assigned to a candidate whose life is in imminent danger.
"The Armed Forces has no problem with it. We can provide or deploy our troops to provide security cover to candidates requesting it. We can do the job," he said.