Samar police on red alert due to NPA raid

TACLOBAN CITY – Police in the entire Samar province was placed under red alert following last Saturday’s attack of the New People’s Army (NPA) on the police station in Paranas, Samar where the rebels carted away three M16-Armalite rifles.

Senior Superintendent Asdali Abah, Samar police director, told The STAR that they have gathered information that the NPA was also planning to attack Sta. Rita, Gandara and Calbiga towns.

Despite these NPA threats, Abah, however, gave assurance of peaceful and honest elections in Samar, which the Philippine National Police earlier identified as one the region’s "immediate areas of concern" because of the presence of NPA rebels and armed groups and previous cases of election-related violence.

"The situation in Samar is still manageable and peaceful, and the NPA attack was only an isolated incident. Because our policemen on duty bravely fought the rebels, (they failed to) overrun the police station," Abah said. – Miriam Garcia Desacada