LEGAZPI CITY—A town councilor and a policeman were wounded on Friday after suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels attacked a police patrol jeep that was heading for a remote village in Daraga, Albay, police said.
Wounded in the attack were Daraga municipal councilor Mark Magallona and Senior Police Officer 4 John Mallorca of the Daraga police, according to Senior Superintendent Marlo Meneses, Albay provincial police director.
The wounded councilor was rushed to the Aquinas Hospital while Mallorca was brought to the Bicol Regional Teaching and Training Hospital, both in Legazpi City.
Meneses, in a text message, said a group of suspected rebels waylaid the police car at around 9:25 a.m. while it was negotiating a road in Barangay (village) Bigao, a hinterland village.
The four policemen on board the patrol car were able to retaliate and return fire but the councilor and Mallorca were hit in the process.
The suspected NPA guerillas retreated when a group of police reinforcement arrived, Meneses said.
According to Meneses, the police went to Bigao to provide security for the consultation forum scheduled in the area by Daraga Mayor Gerry Jaucian and the members of the town council.
Magallona rode in the police patrol car because he was reportedly left behind by his companions who went ahead in a convoy of vehicles led by the mayor.
Barangay Bigao, an interior village about 20 kilometers from the town proper, is considered by local authorities as a rebel-infested area. RAM
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