Manila, Philippines —- (UPDATE 2) Police are in hot pursuit of a group of communist rebels who knocked off a police station and town hall in Bukidnon Tuesday afternoon.
Around 20 suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) swooped down on the precinct and nearby town hall at Malitbog town, Bukidnon and divested police of their firearms, ammunition and uniforms, including nine M16 rifles and four 9-mm pistols, Region 10 police director Chief Superintendent Conrado Laza said.
In a separate report, regional army spokesman Major Eugenio Osias said Wednesday that the raiders also took three policemen hostage when they fled, but freed them not far from the station. He added that the insurgents also took with them two desktop computers, radio transceivers, and personal valuables.
Two Bukidnon police officials, Senior Superintendent Cristeto Rey Gonzalodo and Senior Inspector Alexander Eugenio, were reportedly relieved from their posts for “apparent neglect of duty and operational lapses,” he said.
Osias assured that government troops were now tracking down the rebels.
In a related development, Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Chief for Operations Director General Raul Castañeda was reportedly dispatched by PNP Chief General Raul Bacalzo to personally assess the insurgency situation brewing in Northern Mindanao, PNP spokesperson Agrimero Cruz said.
The government and the Maoist rebels recently resumed talks geared towards ending the 42-year Marxist insurgency, one of Asia’s longest rebellions. However, there has been no formal truce or ceasefire between the two sides. Fatima Reyes and Erika Villanueva, Contributors
Originally Posted at 01:10 pm