Suspected NPAs kill cop, abduct police chief in Quirino province

SANTIAGO CITY — A policeman was killed while the chief of police of Maddela town in Quirino province was abducted when 50 armed men attacked the local police station Saturday night, according to initial reports from the Quirino provincial police office and the military.

The attackers, believed to be communist rebels, killed PO2 Jerome Cardena, an intelligence officer of the Maddela police.

They took Chief Insp. Jhun-jhun Balisi, Maddela police chief, and his duty officers SPO4 Antonio Siriban and a policeman identified as PO2 Albano.

Albano and Siriban were later found unharmed early Sunday morning.

The armed men broke into the police station, disarmed the duty officers and shot Cardena when he reportedly resisted.

A 20-minute gunfight took place before the attackers fled on an Elf truck and two police cars, carrying guns and laptops stolen from the police station. They were seen driving towards the foothills of Manglad village.

Along the way, the armed men also torched a dump truck owned by RBI Jr. Construction Company which was undertaking a road project.

The police cars were later found abandoned separately in the Maddela villages of San Pedro and Cabuaan.

The police set up checkpoints along exit points in the provinces of Quirino, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya.

At 2 a.m. on Sunday, the Isabela police reported intercepting a van carrying five “suspicious looking” passengers in Jones town, which is near Maddela. The van’s passengers were brought to the police station for questioning. CBB/rga