Firearms, cellphones seized: NPAs raid Quezon town

Camp Guillermo Nakar, Lucena City – A number of suspected New People’s Army communist rebels stormed the Panukulan municipal hall while in the middle of a flag-raising ceremony yesterday morning, seizing several firearms and cellphones from policemen and municipal hall employees, authorities said.

In a mobile interview with Police Officer 1 Vivencio Merto Jr., assigned at the Panukulan police station said at around 8:15 a.m., while they were about to conduct the morning prayer after the flag-raising ceremony, at least 40 to 50 heavily armed rebels attacked them and ordered them all to lie face down.

“Nabigla kami kasi puro kami nakapikit kasi nga mananalangin na nung lumusob sila” Merto told The Star adding that the rebels were all wearing full combat uniforms and armed with M-60 machine guns, M-16 Armalite rifles and M-203 grenade launchers.

Merto said after ordering them to lie down, the rebels started to confiscate all their firearms and cellphones including the municipal employees’ belongings.

Reports said seven short firearms of caliber .45, 9 mm and caliber 40 and an Armalite M-16 rifle were seized by the NPAs including eight cellphones from municipal employees.

During the flag-raising ceremony, eight policemen and at least 70 municipal employees were present when the rebels attacked, Merto said.

Reports showed before the raid was made, the communist guerrillas also tried to burn the Globe cellsite tower located just a few hundred meters away from the municipal hall to divert the attention of the police authorities.

“Planado ang pagsugod nila (NPA) dito sa amin kasi napostehan na nila kaagad ang mga bahay ng mga pulis na nakapaligid dito sa munisipyo kaya wala ring nagawa ang mga kasamahan naming naka off-duty,” Merto narrated to The Star.

Merto said the rebels ordered them to cooperate – “huwag kayong gagalaw para walang masasaktan, mga baril lang ang kailangan namin,” he quoted one as saying.

Indeed, no one was reported hurt in the incident.

Quoting the group leader, Merto said the NPAs were talking about the proliferation of drugs in the area and something about the over-expenses made by some politicians in the last local election.

“Sabi nila kung hindi daw titigil ang patuloy na pagkalat ng droga dito sa Panukulan ay babalikan nila kami,” Merto said adding “pati na rin daw ang anomalya sa nakaraang eleksyon na sobra-sobra ang mga ginastos ng mga pulitiko.”

In a Star interview with Panukulan Vice Mayor Arsenio Prudente, he admitted that there was indeed an issue of over-expenses during the last election but he refused to elaborate.

“Tutuo yong mga over-expenses sa nakaraang eleksyon, pero yung pagkalat ng droga dito sa amin ay hindi tutuo kasi ang alam ko ay mga small time drug users lang ang meron dito sa amin at walang mga bigtime drug pushers,” Prudente told The Star in a mobile interview. Prudente was not around when the attack happened.

The Star tried to contact Panukulan Mayor Rogel Postor through his cellphone but failed. – With Michelle Zoleta