Police, AFP brace for NPA retaliation

The Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 has alerted police stations to be extra vigilant and prepare for possible retaliation by the communist New People's Army (NPA) and an offshoot of a raid Sunday morning on an NPA camp in barangay Dalid, Tabuelan.

Police Sr. Supt. Augusto M. Marquez, Jr., chief of the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division (RIID), said that there is also a big possibility that the rebels might retaliate against the residents of the barangays in northern Cebu who complained about the extortion activities of the rebels.

The soldiers of the 78th Infantry Battalion have continued their pursuit operations against a band of 15 to 20 rebels, who reportedly slipped away from the soldiers during the gunfight. The Army believes that many of them have been wounded during the battle.

Policemen from the provincial Mobile Group have also been tapped to serve as a blocking force while policemen from various towns have set up checkpoints to block all possible exit points for the rebels.

Col. Jesse Alvarez, commander of the 78th IB, said that he believes the rebels are still holed out in the mountains in the northern part of the island province since they are heavily out numbered by the government forces.

Bodies Claimed

Relatives of the two slain rebels claimed the bodies yesterday. The family of one of the fatalities, Guillermo Alburo, accused the military of abuse saying that Alburo was tortured before he was killed.

Alburo, 22 years old from barangay Poblacion, Aloguinsan, reportedly had many burns and bruises all over his body and they also found that even his sex organ was lacerated. The family said that they will seek justice for Alburo's death.

The military denied the accusations and claimed that they expect such. Alvarez pointed out that the deaths of the two resulted from a legitimate operation.

The body of the other fatality, who was earlier identified as a certain Jimmy Badayos, was claimed by his mother, Eliza, yesterday.

Eliza said that the fatality was Jerry Badayos, her son with Jimmy Badayos, a labor leader. The body of Jerry, who is reportedly the secretary-general of Front 2 of the NPA based in Cebu, was brought to their residence in sitio Guadalajara, barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.

Eliza said that she could not confirm whether her son was really a rebel, but said that she has no regrets if Jerry had indeed joined the movement adding that the son saw how his father was tortured because of suspicions that he was a communist guerilla.

Eliza said that her son, who used to serve as an altar boy at the Guadalupe Parish, once dreamed to become a priest. The dreams however vanished when his father Jimmy disappeared.

The whereabouts of Jimmy and his status is unkown to date.

Clearing Operations

Alvarez said that they were able to recover a lot of information about the rebel movement after Sunday's firefight. Also recovered from the scene were ten SIM cards that still bore messages exchanged by the NPA guerillas in preparation for planned attacks against government forces.

The military is now also trying to check the background of one Ka Tanya, who is believed to be the wife of Jerry Badayos.

She was reportedly spotted during the firefight along with another female rebel. Alvarez said that the soldiers heard a woman cry during the exchange of fire leading them to believe that Ka Tanya was also wounded.

Not a Threat

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday said that the insurgency problem in Cebu is not exactly a major threat. "The insurgency problem has not grown and it's not alarming as far as Cebu is concerned because still Cebu is considered their R and R so they don't want to close this area by increasing their numbers and therefore stepping up military operations against them," she said. In fact, she said the incident last Sunday morning already showed the anti-insurgency efforts of the military and of the police who acted upon getting reports from the Barangay Intelligence Network of rebel sightings at barangay Dalid in Tabuelan town.

She further said the incident underscores the need for local government officials to give "unconditional and unwavering support" to the military and the police and all those who have been tasked to fight the insurgency problem. "And let us be very clear about this, we are on the side of the government and the military. Let's not sleep with the enemy," she said.

Innove Communications, Inc. led by chief administrative officer Racquel Cagurangan and the Provincial Government led by Garcia yesterday launched its Globelines 167 Cebu Provincial Disaster Response Hotline at the Capitol.

The said company has installed three trunklines at the Area Coordination Center of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council - Warning and Communications Team. The said hotline is configured to receive 167 calls from all Globelines subscribers.

Provision of such consumer landline service in case of emergency is covered in a memorandum of agreement signed by Garcia and Cagurangan yesterday during the turnover of the said emergency response hotline.

The governor is hoping for "faster reaction with better communications." The provincial government yesterday also extended a P31,000 burial assistance to the family of the slain soldier, PFC Rey Venturanza. This is to complement the P15,000 funds that is covered in the death insurance of Venturanza, as P46,000 is needed to pay for his burial expenses. -with Cristina C. Birondo