NPA attacks Mindoro police station, takes mayor hostage

SAN PEDRO CITY, Philippines—At least 50 members of the New People’s Army attacked a police station in Paluan, Occidental Mindoro, Friday afternoon, killing a police officer and a soldier and fleeing with the town’s mayor and another official as hostages.

A hot pursuit operation by government forces was continuing past 6 p.m. even though the rebels released Mayor Carl Michael Pangilinan and his municipal administrator at a river about three kilometers from the police station.

“They took the mayor and the municipal administrator with them as human shields when they escaped,” said Senior Superintendent Ronaldo de Jesus, chief of the police intelligence division in Mimaropa region made up of the islands of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.

In a phone interview, De Jesus said the rebels, numbering at least 50 and traveling in two vans, arrived at the police station around 3:30 p.m. and opened fire at the policemen. The policemen fired back but one police officer was killed and four other policemen were wounded.

As the rebels escaped, they encountered a group of Philippine Army soldiers and killed one of them, De Jesus said.

The names of the fatalities were not released immediately.

It was not clear yet how the mayor and the municipal administrator were abducted.

“We learned that there was another encounter in Paluan. There were a lot of Cafgu (Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit) camps along the way,” De Jesus said. The Cafgu is the Army’s auxiliary militia force.