MANILA, Philippines—The communist New People’s Army (NPA) on Monday confirmed it had seized three policemen as “prisoners of war” when it ambushed a car in Rodriguez, Rizal, on Saturday, killing one policeman and wounding two others.

An NPA band calling itself the Narciso Antazo Aramil Command sent a statement to the Inquirer entitled “People’s War Bulletin” in which it claimed responsibility for the ambush, one of the closest attacks to Metro Manila since the rebellion began 40 years ago.

Police confirmed that Insp. Rex Cuntapay, PO1 Alberto de la Cruz and PO1 Marvin Agasen were taken by rebels.

PO1 Rickson Aquino was killed while two others, PO1 Ricardo Flores and PO1 Michael Apostol Tarun, were wounded when some 60 rebels detonated a land mine then opened fire with rifles and grenade launchers near Barangay Macabud at about 12:15 p.m., the police said.

The NPA bulletin claimed it gave the two wounded policemen first aid and “facilitated their transfer to a nearby hospital.”

It also said they seized six high-powered rifles and six pistols from the policemen of the 418th police mobile group.

Only 1 patrol car sent

A lone patrol car was sent to respond to a report that armed men had burned a dump truck at the Rizal sanitary landfill in Rodriguez town.

The rebels were reportedly in ambush position when the policemen arrived.

The government and the NPA had just ended a five-day Christmas ceasefire on Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1.

In a statement Friday, a spokesperson of the National Democratic Front-Rizal chapter calling himself Arman Guerrero said that forces of the 16th Infantry Battalion conducted offensive operations despite the four-day ceasefire.

With the end of the ceasefire, Guerrero said the communist leadership had ordered the Narciso Antazo Aramil Command operating in Rizal province to “start staging tactical offensives against state security forces.”

The rebels were reported to have fled toward the Bulacan boundary. A joint police and military search for the missing policemen is under way.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno on Monday condemned the NPA for the “treacherous” attack on the police officers in Rizal.

The communist rebels must be held liable for human rights violations, Puno said.

The officer killed during the attack, Aquino, used to be one of Puno’s security men.

“We believe there is basis to file a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights because a land mine was used to disable the police vehicle. You know the treachery has always been there, they call it something else but it’s really treachery,” Puno told reporters.

Cowardly call

Puno said the NPA lured the officers into a trap by calling in a false emergency, an act he called “cowardly.”

“Secondly, the use of a distress call to police units in order to draw the men into these ambushes. This is not very helpful to the community... What about the legitimate calls for help? Why not just face the police directly instead of using distress calls as bait?” said Puno.

Two months ago, the NPA’s Merardo Arce Command in southern Mindanao abducted Army 1st Lt. Vicente Cammayo during an encounter in Compostela Valley.

The rebel command had promised to release the officer during the holidays but held back, citing the volatile ground situation. With a report from Tarra Quismundo