Rebels return more items seized from cops

ILOILO CITY — Communist rebels, through employees of a radio station, on Monday returned more personal items seized during a raid last month at the police station of Maasin town in Iloilo province.

Members of the New People’s Army (NPA) gave the items to Aksyon Radyo Iloilo anchors Junjun Sornito and Mario Gelongo in a meeting in Leon town on Saturday.

On Monday, the radio anchors went to the Iloilo provincial police office to return seven mobile phones, documents, pieces of jewelry and P12,970 handed by the rebels, the radio station reported.

The rebels, who introduced themselves as members of the NPA’s Napoleon Tumagtang Command operating on Panay Island, also turned over laptop computers, cash and personal belongings to radio stations Bombo Radyo Iloilo and RMN Iloilo, days after the June 18 police station raid.

During that raid, around 60 rebels handcuffed nine policemen on duty and took away 15 firearms that included 11 M-16 rifles and four pistols, bullets and handheld radio sets.

In a statement, Julio Montana, NPA Panay spokesperson, said the NPA would return all personal belongings of policemen because they were only after the equipment owned by the government, which they could use in their operations.

But Senior Supt. Marlon Tayaba, Iloilo police director, doubted the rebels’ sincerity, saying they only wanted to “gain public sympathy and media mileage” by returning the items.  He said turning over these valuables did not negate the fact that “what the rebels did was plain robbery.” —Nestor P. Burgos Jr.