3 NPA rebels, lawman killed in gunbattle

STA. CRUZ, Zambales — Three suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and a policeman were killed during a clash between government and rebel forces here yesterday.

Three more rebels and a lawman were also wounded in the gunbattle in Barangay Lucapon.

Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol, Central Luzon police director, said the clash erupted when residents of Barangay Lucapon tipped off the Special Action Force about the presence of 52 heavily armed men in the village.

"It seems the NPA (rebels) were on their revolutionary tax collection sortie. It was plain extortion because they even slaughtered and cooked the carabaos and cows," he said.

Firefight broke out at about 6:30 a.m. with reinforcements from both the police and the Army arriving at 9 a.m.

"Before noontime, the rebels’ defenses were broken and they started to flee toward various directions", Querol said.

Querol declined to identify the slain policeman and those wounded until after their families have been notified.

As of late afternoon yesterday, police and military forces were still pursuing the guerrillas.

Police reports from Zambales said the rebels apparently belonged to the "mainstream" NPA unit under the command of one Friginal alias Ka Pepe which operates in Bataan and Zambales.

Querol said he has deployed special action teams in Bataan due to the "upsurge" of NPA offensives there.

Meanwhile, Querol confirmed that the NPA was responsible for the killing of Superintendent Tomas de Armas, police chief of Angat, Bulacan, last June 19.

De Armas was ambushed while he was driving his car on his way to the Angat police station.

"What happened in Sta. Cruz, Zambales is a blow to NPA tactical offensives which included the recent ambush of the Angat police chief and the raid on a police station in Aurora," Querol said. — Ding Cervantes, Christina Mendez