NEWSBRIEFS

MASBATE

NPA rebel killed in clash

An unidentified communist rebel was killed in a clash with government troops yesterday, police said.

Supt. Renato Battaler, police regional chief, said 28 soldiers from the 9th Infantry Battalion and policemen from the Provincial Police Mobile group engaged the 15-member New People’s Army unit in a running gun battle at the outlying villages of Rizal in Dimasalang and Buenasuerte in Palanas.

Battaler said some of the rebels were wounded and brought along by their comrades following the 20-minute skirmish.  Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon

Land dispute leads to killings

Three farmers were killed while an elderly woman was wounded in a shooting and stabbing incident on Thursday reportedly due to a family feud in Barangay R.M. Magbalon, Cawayan town.

Killed were Juanillo Noynay, 37, his cousin Lolito Noynay, 59, a resident of Barangay Miaga, Uson town; and Rolly Adriano, 62, of Barangay Dalipe, Cawayan. Natividad Noynay, 70, mother of Juanillo, suffered stab wounds in the body and was brought to the Masbate Provincial Hospital.

Police investigation indicated that the motive of the killings was due to a family feud over ownership of a piece of land. Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon

CAGAYAN

Motorcycle-bus collision: 2 dead

Two men died instantly when their motorcycle was hit by a bus along the national highway in Claveria town last week.

Police said personnel of the Land Transportation Office’s Flying Squad on Friday flagged down Dennis Agustin, 21, and Carmelo Anthony Baquiring, 28, to check their motorcycle’s registration papers but they ignored them.

However, in their haste to escape, the victims, who police said were drunk, were hit by the bus in Barangay Centro Uno.  Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon

COTABATO CITY

Grenade blast jolts City Hall

Unidentified motorcycle-riding men tossed a grenade toward the City Hall grounds on Sunday night, slightly wounding a security guard, police said.

Senior Superintendent Danilo Reyes, city police director, said the MK-2 fragmentation grenade went off at 10 p.m. about 10 meters from the guard house. Danny Upam, a member of the City Hall civil security team, suffered minor injuries in the left arm.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, the 10th since January. Bombings, shooting and “agaw armas” (gun snatching) continue to hound residents despite the presence of a battalion of Marines and the 300 policemen. Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao