Rebels fire no shot, take cop captive

ZAMBOANGA CITY—New People’s Army rebels raided a police station in Tigbao town in Zamboanga del Sur on Monday, took firearms and a policeman there captive.

Senior Supt. Jose Bayani Gucela, Zamboanga del Sur police chief, said 70 to 80 rebels wearing military uniforms stormed the town’s police station.

The rebels, Gucela said, took with them PO2 Faizal Juhaili, the police officer on duty during the raid.

Gucela said the Tigbao police station, which is along the main highway, “is most isolated and a very quiet area.”

Four policemen were on duty when the attack happened.

Director General Nicanor Bartolome, PNP chief, ordered the police chiefs of Zamboanga del Sur and Tigbao town sacked following the raid.

Bartolome, in an interview yesterday, said he ordered the relief of Gucela and Senior Insp. Heines Legaspi, Tigbao police chief, pending investigation.

Bartolome said he would fly to Tigbao today to “personally assess the situation and give guidance on the ground.”

The PNP chief demanded to know “why a big formation of insurgents was able to enter the town despite the alert status.”

Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, spokesperson of the National Democratic Front in Mindanao, told the Inquirer that the raid was carried out “without a single shot fired.”

Madlos said the attack would belie military claims that the rebel group was losing steam and support from the masses in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The raid on the police station was the first in Zamboanga del Sur this year, which Madlos said was their retaliation for what he said were rampant government abuses and rights violations on civilians in the area.

The rebels took seven Armalite rifles, an M-14 rifle, two 9mm pistols, a .38-cal. revolver and several rounds of ammunition.

Madlos said the rebels holding Juhaili were not inclined to release the policeman pending an investigation for his alleged involvement in crimes against the people.

But he assured the family and relatives of Juhaili that the captive was being treated humanely. Reports from Julie S. Alipala and Franklin A. Caliguid, Inquirer Mindanao, and Dona Z. Pazzibugan in Manila