Palace condemns attack on cops: Operations on vs NPAs in Mt Province ambush

TADIAN, Mountain Province --Malacañang condemned the attack by New People’s Army guerrillas on police trainees here on June 28 even as the Commission on Human Rights in the Cordillera is set to investigate the incident that  left one cop dead and nine others wounded.

Regional police director Chief Supt. Benjamin Magalong said police are holding pursuit operations to flush out the rebels in the tri-boundaries of Abra, Mountain Province and Ilocos Sur.

This, as Supt. Davy Vicente Limmong, regional police public information officer took exception to a report in a national daily on July 3 entitled "Another cop trainee in NPA ambush dies".

Limmong said the report that PO1 Junette Ngalawen, one of the injured, died in a Baguio hospital after being transferred from Bontoc was false.

“The report is incorrect and in fact PO1 Junette Ngalawen as mentioned in the report is still alive and confined at the Pines Doctor's Hospital, Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City.

“The victims were visited by the personnel of the PNP Health Service Supt. Digna Ambas and Senior Insp. Janette Bautista July 2 who came out with latest report about their status.”

He said Ngalawen may undergo surgical operation. Limmong added other injured personnel were admitted in different Baguio hospitals while four others were already discharged.

Insp. Millenium Bantas was reportedly discharged from the Luis Hora Hospital in Bauko, Mt. Province while Police Officers Jefferson Sari, Jasmin Salve and Eveson Waguis were also discharged from the same hospital as Daketan Pawas, Michelle Maludon, Ruben Benito and Alexander Dulnuan are recovering from wounds.

This, as around 1,000 residentsstaged a rally in Bontoc, Mountain Province to condemn the ambush which claimed the life of PO1 Dexter Balagbag who died at the site.

Magalong awarded nine wounded cops including a posthumous citation for the slain policeman in the ambush at Sitio Kabunangan, Poblacion, Tadian.

“They were given Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting in recognition of their gallant stand against the heavily-armed New People’s Army during the said incident,” Magalong said.

Wounded in the incident were two female and seven male law enforcers.

They were given their respective medals while recovering from gunshot/shrapnel wounds at the Luis Hora Regional Memorial Hospital here during his visit last week.

Wounded were Insp. Melinium Bantas and PO1s Alexander Dulnuan, Jasmine Salve, Jefferson Sari, Edison Waguis, Mitchell Malubon, Pawas Daketan, Robin Benito and Ngalawen, all belonging to the Regional Public Safety Battalion in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Ninety-five trainees, including 70 women, all belonging to the Regional Public Safety Battalion, were jogging as part of their daily training regimen when NPA rebels fired at them. They were unarmed and in athletic attire.

Gov. Leonard Mayaen, who led Monday’s indignation rally, said, “Contrary to the claim of leftist groups that the people of Mt. Province are undertaking a petition campaign for a military pullout here, it is the communists that we wanted to leave instead.”

The rallyists were composed of students, local and village officials, local government workers and ordinary folk who gathered at the provincial plaza in Bontoc.

Bearing anti-communist placards, the participants first assembled at the Mt. Province General Comprehensive High School grounds, then paraded around the town center and converged at the provincial plaza for the program.

“I’m sure we are all against the NPA, otherwise we will maintain that idea that Mt. Province is an NPA-infested province,” Mayaen said.

Col. Loreto Magundayao, chief of the civilian-military operations battalion of the Army’s 5th Infantry Division based in Isabela, said Mayor Anthony Wooden of Tadian town where the ambush took place, also led the rally.

Meanwhile, Malacañang said no justification would be acceptable for the NPA’s ambush.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the incident was saddening as she noted that the NPA was trying to justify the attack by saying victims were being trained for counter insurgency.

Valte said the rebels were giving other excuses, but the fact remains that the victims were unarmed when they were attacked.

“Maybe they should relay their excuses and justification to the families of the victims,” she said over radio dzRB.

Limmong said an investigation of the ambush site showed the rebels carefully planned the ambush.

He added investigators found belongings left by the rebels some 50 meters from the ambush site.

The NPAs also took away seven M16 and three M14 rifles belonging to the trainees.

He said the rebels also fired a rifle grenade and exploded a bomb during the attack.

“It was a premeditated attack. We condemn this attack. The trainees were mostly women. They were in their athletic uniforms and were carrying unloaded rifles as part of their training,” said Limmong.

Ninety-five police privates, including 70 women and their four trainers were doing their regular morning jogging when NPA rebels opened fire at them in Barangay Kabunagan at about 5:45 a.m.

“For many years, we had had no ambuscades in this area. The area is secured by the Army and our patrols and we are near the town center so we did not expect this attack,” Limmong said.

“We strongly condemn the desperate and treacherous action of the NPA under the Leonardo Pacsi command in targeting our unarmed personnel who were simply doing their regular morning jogging routine,” Magalong said.

    

“Investigation at the ambush site showed premeditation of the NPA rebels to inflict harm on government troops be it in their non-combatant status just to comply with the order of the CPP/NPA/NDF leadership to launch atrocities against government troops and private businesses to instill fear and influence for the barangay and SK elections come October,” said a police report.

           

According to Magalong, the method used by the NPA  showed even unarmed personnel can be a targets.

He disclosed 70 out of the 95 trainees were female who all came from ordinary families and most if not all were sole bread winners in their respective families.   

            

Tadian is one of the most peaceful municipalities in the Cordillera and the provincial government is gearing to transform it as a center for education.

Tadian is the present location of the Mt. Province Polytechnic State University.

Mayor Wooden, after the attack, convened the municipal peace and order council who informed Magalong that policemen were not abusive and promised to pass a resolution condemning and denouncing the action of the NPA. 

           

Magalong ordered police regionwide to be on alert and initiate appropriate security preparations to prevent a repeat of the said incident in their respective areas of jurisdiction and to guarantee safety of the people in remote villages.

Meanwhile, the CHR-Cordillera called on the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA-National Democratic Front “to comply with principles and standards of international humanitarian law and other human rights instruments which they are party.”

The attack, which was hailed by the CPP leadership as a victory, lawyer Harold Kub-aron, regional officer of the CHR-Cordillera said, “is a sheer act of poltroonery of the perpetrators.”

He  said the attack was senseless  because the police personnel were merely jogging, unarmed and in athletic uniform when it took place.

Cordillera Peoples Democratic Front spokesperson Simon Naogsan however said they attacked the armed contingent of the “jogging policemen” where they even carted away 14 high powered firearms (11 M16s, 3 M14s).

Kub-aron said CHR investigators will conduct an independent investigation into the incident.

Kub-aron said after their investigation, they will make their appropriate recommendations.