Army chief, Cafgu killed in Negros NPA attack

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  – An Army detachment commander and a government militiaman were killed, while three others, including a civilian, were injured Saturday in two separate attacks allegedly staged by the New People’s Army in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, the military said.

Army SSgt. Rey Palomaria and Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) member Julbert Marata died on the spot, after they were ambushed by suspected NPA rebels in Sitio Candalunan, Barangay Trinidad Guihulngan, according to the military.

They were responding to a shooting incident involving three rebel hitmen in nearby Sitio Casingan, where a civilian identified as Joseph Edullantes was the victim, but survived the attempt on his life, the military said.

Capt. Mark Andrew Posadas, 3rd Infantry Division spokesman, yesterday said CAFGU members Joseph Tejares and Alex Temperatura were also injured in the ambush. They are now being treated at a hospital in Dumaguete City.

Posadas said they suspect that the shooting of Edullantes could be part of the tactical plans of the NPA to lure government forces into their prepared ambush site, while responding to the shooting incident.

Edullantes who survived the liquidation attempt in Sitio Casingan, Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, was reportedly accused by the NPA as a government informant, Posadas said.

A team of policemen led by Senior Inspector Carlos Lacuesta, Guihulngan police chief, was also almost ambushed by a blocking force of the NPA in Barangay Basak, Vallehermoso, an adjacent town of Guihulngan, hours after the ambush, Posadas said.

Initial reports of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office revealed that Lacuesta and his men, were informed of the planned ambush while conducting a checkpoint, engaged the rebels in about 15 minutes of gun battle. However, no casualty was reported on both sides.

Col. Manuel Ochotorena, 302nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the separate NPA attacks in Guihulngan could be part of a larger tactical offensive of the NPA in central Negros.

The Philippine Army tagged Guihulngan as a “factory” for rebels in Negros island. It is an area where the Komiteng Rehiyonal-Negros chaired by priest-turned-rebel Frank Fernandez is suspected to have established also its regional headquarters.

In Cauayan, Negros Occidental, seven suspected NPA members surrendered to the Army Task Group South West, following the death of their leader identified as Armando Sumayang, secretary of the Komiteng Larangan South West, military records also showed.