Mindoro town cop chief fired after NPA attack

SAN PEDRO CITY—The police chief of the remote town of Paluan in Occidental Mindoro province was sacked after an investigation showed that he was nowhere to be found when New People’s Army (NPA) rebels stormed his police station on Friday and left two policemen and a soldier dead.

Senior Insp. Amel Tupas, Paluan police chief, was relieved from his post on Saturday pending an internal investigation by the police.

“Tupas was not around when the station was attacked,” said Supt. Imelda Tolentino, information officer of the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) police.

Tolentino, in a phone interview, said “the relief is SOP (standard operating procedure).”

She said investigators were checking how many policemen were on duty during the rebel attack.

The rebels, disguised as government soldiers, arrived on board two vans and opened fire at the police station.

Two policemen—PO1 Rolly Alcagno and PO2 Robert Tendido—were killed in a gunfight that lasted for about an hour while three others were wounded, Tolentino said.

As the rebels withdrew, they passed by a military detachment near the police station, where a brief gunfight took place, leaving Cpl. Job Florante dead.

The rebels escaped, abducting Paluan Mayor Carl Michael Pangilinan and municipal administrator Eduardo Yambao, and using them as human shields, said Maj. Angelo de Guzman, spokesperson of the Southern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

He said the officials were taken from the municipal hall, which is just beside the police station.

Pangilinan and Yambao were released near the Calawagan River, also in the same village, about 3 kilometers from the police station.