Communist guerillas sing the Internationale during the NPA anniversary celebration last March in Compostela Valley province. (davaotoday.com file photo by Ace R. Morandante)
By DAVAO TODAY
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The New People’s Army in Southern Mindanao has arrested and detained three government troops in a matter of 10 days and few weeks before the May 13 elections.
At 7 AM on April 19, the NPA’s Herminio Alfonso Command-Guerilla Front 53 arrested PO3 Maula Tato Ali, with Serial No. 099611, in a checkpoint at Sitio Crossing Tinayong, Batobato village, President Roxas town, Cotabato province.
“Gidakop ang maong pulis aron ipailalom sa usa ka imbestigasyon alang sa unsang katuyoan sa pagsulod sa maong eryang ginalihokan sa BHB ug uban pang posibleng kaso ug krimen nga nabuhat batok sa masa ug katawhan,” said Isabel Santiago, spokesperson of the said NPA unit, in a statement.
Ali was assigned in Arakan town.
Santiago has scored the military, particularly the 57th Infantry Battalion, for launching massive operations in the hinterland of Pres. Roxas, Antipas, Arakan and Magpet towns, to supposedly rescue the police officer.
“Sa maong lakang sa AFP, walay konsiderasyong ginahatag sa posibleng hulga sa seguridad sa maong bihag sa gubat,” Santiago warned.
Five days after Ali’s arrest, a member of the 71st Infantry Battalion was taken as “prisoner of war” (POW) by the NPA’s ComVal-Davao Gulf Sub-Regional Command in Maco town, Compostela Valley province.
Pfc. Jesus Tomas Jr., with Serial No. 879223, was arrested at 6AM in Elizalde village, April 24.
The arrest of Tomas was part of the NPA’s enforcement of “revolutionary justice” for the killing of eight-year-old Roque Antivo last April 3 in Sitio Kidaraan, according to Daniel Ibarra, spokesman of the said NPA command.
“Punitive actions” were launched by the NPA, Ibarra said, against the 71st IB and the Mabini Police Station after the military “denied culpability in its appalling attack versus Antivo and two other children” and after the police “planted false evidence at the crime scene to cover up the military’s atrocious act.”
On April 23, at 7 AM, a team from the NPA Guerilla Front 2 aboard a motorcycle hit the Mabini Police Station with a grenade launcher.
On April 24, the NPA also claimed of ambushing the 71st IB’s Charlie Company with command-detonated explosive, “hitting a number of casualties.”
Meanwhile, four days after the arrest of Tomas, the NPA’s Guerilla Front 2 arrested another police, an escort of Compostela Valley Governor Arturo Uy at a checkpoint in Sitio Malamudaw.
Police Officer 2 Allan Mariquit Pansoy was arrested 3:30 PM, April 28. He was with Uy and a convoy of Board Members.
The NPA warned it will continue to inflict blows against the AFP, PNP and paramilitary groups; detain POWs and “fortify people’s defense against the onslaught of the rabid Oplan Bayanihan.”
It said that abusive police and military men and officers are legitimate targets, and undesirable elements in the communities “are subject to the NPA and regulations of the People’s Democratic Government.”
Santiago, on the other hand, assured they will respect the rights of the POW in accordance with international war laws and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.
“Kanunay gipaneguro sa tibuok organisasyon sa Hukbo ang pagtamod sa disiplinang dili dagmalan ang mga bihag sa gubat, tagaan og igong atensyon ug pagtagad ug pagrespeto sa mga demokratikong katungod niini samtang anaa ilalom sa kustodiya,” Santiago said. (davaotoday.com)
AFP, compostela valley, cotabato, NPA, oplan bayanihan, paramilitary groups, PNP, pow
