NPA rebels block ComVal gov’s convoy, abduct cop escort

TAGUM CITY, Philippines— Communist rebels stopped the convoy of Governor Arturo Uy and seized his police escort in Maco, Compostela Valley late Sunday, the police said.

Senior Supt. Camilo Cascolan, Compostela Valley police chief, identified the abducted policeman as Senior Police Office 1 Alan Pansoy, assigned at the Mabini police station.

Cascolan said the incident happened as the party, which included the governor himself, six board members and several supporters, was heading home from a political rally at Anitapan village, Mabini town, around 5 p.m.

Upon reaching Purok 6, Barangay Malamodao, in Maco town, the group was stopped by an undetermined number of gunmen, believed to be New People’s Army guerrillas who had set up a checkpoint along a village road.

The governor, who is allied with the ruling Liberal Party, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Police and army teams were immediately dispatched to pursue the fleeing assailants and rescue Pansoy, Cascolan said.

The police official also ordered the setting up of police checkpoints along the exit points of Maco, Mabini, Mawab and Pantukan municipalities.

Sunday’s abduction came just days after New People’s Army rebels also snatched a soldier in nearby Maco and attacked an army outpost there.