‘Ka Roger’ wounded in Camarines Norte clash?

LEGAZPI CITY – Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal, spokesman of the Communist Party of the Philippines(CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA), was believed wounded during military operations in Southern Luzon last May 7.

"I was informed by an asset through a text message that Ka Roger was wounded during the military operation," Major Ronald Rosario, group commander of the military’s 21st Civil Relations Unit in Bicol told The STAR yesterday.

"What part of his body was hit and how grave his condition is, I cannot ascertain as of this moment," Rosario added.

But Rosal laughed off the report, denying he was hurt.

"Andito pa rin ako, nakaraos sa matinding pagsubok (I am still around and able to overcome that latest challenge)," Rosal said in an interview with The STAR yesterday via mobile phone.

He admitted, however, that he and his comrades were flushed out of their hinterland camp in Sitio Munting Dumagmang in Barangay Dumagmang in Labo, Camarines Norte at around 11:30 a.m. when the government forces came.

"Nagkahiwa-hiwalay lang kami noong umatake ang militar sa amin pero ngayon sama-sama na uli kami and all accounted for (We were separated when the military attacked, but now we’re all together and accounted for)," Rosal said.

The Southern Luzon Command under Lt. Gen. Pedro Cabuhay ordered combined "security clearing operations" last week in Sitio Munting Dumagmang and in nearby Barangay Mapulot in Tagkawayan, Quezon after intelligence reports established that a large number of NPA guerrillas were amassing there.

The residents reported seeing about 60 fully armed Maoist guerrillas.

Army troopers from the 9th Infantry Division reportedly clashed with Rosal’s group. There were no reported casualties on either side.

The STAR contacted Cabuhay regarding Rosal’s condition but he himself had no information on this.

Rosario speculated that Rosal was in the area to hold meetings with recruits of the Bicol regional party committee and plan for another offensive this summer.

He explained the NPA’s "summer offensive" could strike anywhere in the country to demonstrate that the party is still a force to reckon with. The NPA was among those suspected of killing Sta. Rosa, Laguna Mayor Leon Arcillas last Tuesday.

Arcillas, 63, had just finished officiating a mass wedding for 20 couples at the second floor of the city hall building when he was gunned down by at least three assailants.

However, during a radio interview a day after the murder, Rosal denied communist rebels had a hand in the killing.

The large communist presence massing in the towns of Quezon and Camarines Norte has surprised villagers in the area, Rosario said.

But what surprised local residents more was that they were supposedly ordered to provide lodging, food and water for the rebels, including Rosal.

"The rebels ordered them (the residents) to kill their chickens and domestic animals to feed the NPA rebels," Rosario said.

The residents at first saw only 10 guerrillas, but the numbers later swelled to about 60, he said. A lot of war materiel was being stockpiled in preparation for a battle, Rosario added.

Army troopers meanwhile continued to conduct combat operations as the main NPA rebel group split up into smaller units to elude government forces.

Units from the 9th Infantry Division based in Pili, Camarines Sur under Major General Ricardo Nobleza as well as from the Tactical Operations Group-5 of the Philippine Air Force under Col. Alfred Taygo took part in the military operation.

Meanwhile, a communist insurgent was killed while three others in a raid were captured in a military raid in Eastern Samar last Wednesday.

One soldier and the girlfriend of the slain rebel were also wounded in a firefight during the assault on the NPA lair in Calbayog City, the military said in a statement.

In another incident, two NPA members surrendered to the military in Talavera town in Nueva Ecija on Thursday, the statement added. — With AFP