NPAs kill 5 soldiers after gov’t truce

BUTUAN CITY—At least five soldiers were killed and two others were  wounded in an attack by communist rebels in Tandag, Surigao del Sur, Friday, barely a few hours after a unilateral truce declared by the government took effect.

Maj. Eugenio Julio Osias IV, spokesperson of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro, said a seven-man team of soldiers under the 36th Infantry Battalion was manning a military outpost in Mabuhay when rebels on board an Isuzu Elf truck attacked around 5 a.m. on Friday.

Osias said the soldiers tried to fend off the attack but were overpowered and outnumbered by the rebels.

The outpost was subsequently overrun.

The attackers then seized four M16 rifles, five M14 rifles, a K3 squad automatic weapon, an M203 grenade launcher and a Harris handheld radio before fleeing.

The military has withheld the names of the fatalities until their respective families have been informed.

The soldiers belonged to the Community Organizing for Peace and Development (COPD) team of the 36th IB and were tasked to conduct community development projects.

Taking advantage

Osias said the soldiers’ remains had been brought to the St. Peter Funderal Homes in Tandag City. Those injured were brought to Surigao del Sur Provincial Hospital.

Osias lambasted the rebel group for taking advantage of the 18-day unilateral declaration of a ceasefire.

“But with what had happened this morning, the whole Filipino nation can now see the true color of these NPA rebels. They literally took advantage of the goodwill that the government had extended to them,” he added.

“We strongly condemn this treacherous act of the NPA against our soldiers even after the AFP’s declaration of a temporary ceasefire… These criminals are heartless, they did not even consider the spirit of the Yuletide season,” Osias said.

Maj. Gen. Victor Felix, 4ID commander, immediately ordered all commanders in the area to “conduct pursuit operations against these criminals in accordance with law enforcement operation as authorized.”

Another attack

The attack came barely a day after New People’s Army (NPA) rebels disguised as policemen attacked the municipal jail in nearby Lianga town, carting several weapons and briefly detaining the overwhelmed guards.

“We were expecting that with this (truce), the rebels will realize that we are really sincere in our call for peace and reconciliation, but with what had happened this morning, the whole Filipino nation can now see the true color of these NPAs. They literally took advantage of the goodwill that the government has extended to them,” Osias said.

No casualty was reported  in the Lianga attack.

This year’s ceasefire is only one day short of the 19-day ceasefire declared last year. Franklin Caliguid with reports from Frinston Lim and Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao, and Dona Z. Pazzibugan in Manila