AFP unsure if Quezon attack related to Tiamzons' arrest

MANILA, Philippines - The military could not say whether the deadly ambush staged by communist rebels in Quezon province was a retaliation for the arrest of the Tiamzon couple last Saturday.

“We cannot determine if this is retaliation but this is violence not only against the armed forces but the community itself,” Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said in an interview.

“We have to take note that this group of soldiers from the 85th Infantry Battalion were on their way to a medical mission,” he added.

Zagala said the New People’s Army (NPA) has been staging similar attacks even before the arrest of Benito Tiamzon, the chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and his partner Wilma.

Armed Forces spokesman Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr. described the ambush as “a normal undertaking” of the rebels."

“It has been their normal undertaking to sow fear in provinces. We’re prepared to prevent these (types of atrocities) and bring them to the bar of justice,” he said.

One Army officer and one enlisted personnel were killed in an NPA attack that transpired in Barangay Vegaflor in Lopez on Monday at around 7:30 p.m.

Four other soldiers were wounded during the ambush, which occurred while soldiers are on their way to a medical mission.

While they are unsure whether the Quezon incident was related to the capture of the Tiamzons, military officials said they are prepared for any retaliatory attack by the insurgents.

“We will be prepared for any eventuality,” Tutaan said.