Governor’s bodyguards killed by NPA landmine

Five policemen were killed by landmine shrapnel and six others were wounded after they were ambushed by suspected New People’s Army rebels in Occidental Mindoro yesterday.

Two Army soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in another ambush in Negros Occidental, the military said yesterday.

Killed in Occidental Mindoro were Police Officers 2 Leonardo Medilla, Nelson Barrientos, Gabriel Ordanes, Rommel Caleze and Alberto Hilario.

The six wounded policemen were Police Officers 3 Elmer Ligayada, Julius Villaflores and Mario Barbosa, Police Officers 2 Jonathan Alvarez and Joel Viscarra, and Police Officer 1 Ronnie Rivera.

Three other policemen were unharmed.

The two soldiers killed and wounded in Negros Occidental were not identified.

In Occidental Mindoro, the five policemen died in a five-minute shootout with at least 30 NPA rebels after their vehicle hit a landmine, according to Superintendent Reynaldo Nestor Rosero, public information officer of the MIMAROPA police.

Rosero said 14 policemen, mostly rookies, were on their way to Sitio Tugtugin, Barangay Batasan in San Jose town to secure the miting de avance of Gov. Josephine Sato when the NPA rebels detonated the landmine and ambushed them at around 7:30 a.m.

Shrapnel from the landmine killed the five policemen, while the others were wounded in the ensuing shootout with NPA rebels, he added.

Rosero said the wounded policemen are now being treated at the Murtha District Hospital in San Jose.

The rebels might have also suffered casualties, but could have carried their dead comrades away in improvised stretchers when they fled, he added.

The NPA rebels fled after the arrival of reinforcements from the Army’s 80th Infantry Battalion and the Occidental Mindoro police force.

The same NPA band could be behind the kidnapping of Pola, Oriental Mindoro Mayor Alex Aranas last Friday, police said.

In Negros Occidental, the four soldiers were in a vehicle on their way to Sitio Malasaging in Barangay Pinapugasan to fetch water when they were ambushed.

Two hitchhikers, identified as Enarciso Librando, 16, and Rey Pacumberto, 12, survived the attack with minor abrasions, according to Gen. Gregorio Fajardo, Army 303rd Infantry Brigade commander.

Fajardo said one of the soldiers was killed at the scene, while the other died while being treated for gunshot wounds at a hospital.

The two wounded soldiers and the two minors are being treated at the Dr. Vicente Gustilo District Hospital in Escalante City, he added.

Four Air Force helicopter gunships have joined the manhunt for the fleeing rebels who are believed to belong to the NPA’s Larangan Gerilya 3 in northern Negros island.

102 poll deaths

An aide to a gubernatorial candidate was killed and his teenage daughter wounded as local officials urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to place Compostela Valley under its control.

Election-related violence claimed its 102nd victim in the four months of campaigning across the country with only 48 hours left before election day on Monday.

Southern Mindanao regional police commander Chief Superintendent Andres Caro II said three men went to Ernesto Tatoy’s house supposedly to distribute leaflets and shot the victim. His 13-year-old daughter was wounded in the leg.

Tatoy, 41, worked as a political coordinator for provincial board member Chiongke Uy, who is running for governor in Compostela Valley.

Police said they are looking into the possibility that Tatoy might have been liquidated by communist rebels.

Caro said the victim also worked as an informant of the local military and police based in the province.

"We still could not ascertain if Tatoy was indeed Uy’s political coordinator in the area. As we also have to know exactly the motive of the killing since Tatoy worked as an intelligence asset of both the military and the police," he said.

Caro said there could be other possible motives in the killing of Tatoy.

"We’re looking into this case as an election-related incident. Right now, we’re still tracking down the suspects," he said.

Caro said the latest incident spurred local officials led by Gov. Jose Caballero to ask Comelec to place the province under its control.

Compostela Valley Rep. Manuel Zamora also filed the same petition before Comelec.

Local officials cited the spate of killings in the province, particularly in the mining town of Monkayo in which two barangay chairmen and at least six supporters of local candidates have been killed since the campaign started last month.

Caro said Comelec only considered putting the town of Monkayo under its control but not the entire province.

Elsewhere, the driver of a mayoral candidate in Zamboanga del Norte was killed while his companion was injured when they were ambushed by unidentified men yesterday.

Police regional spokesman Superintendent Jose Bayani Gucela identified the fatality as Rolly Guarderama, re-electionist mayor of Siocon town.

The wounded companion was identified as Avelino Ybarsabal.

Gucela said there are initial indications that the ambush was election-related.

In Albay, Dante Arandia, the town mayor of Pio Duran, survived an attack after unidentified men strafed his house with automatic gunfire leaving four others wounded late Wednesday.

The regional police also reported two other incidents of strafing in Esperanza town in Masbate.

Unidentified men shot the house of barangay councilor Ramil Contapaz in Esperanza on Wednesday as another group of armed men opened fire at the house of Jose Yap, also in the town.

In Pampanga, Fortunato Castro, a supporter of a mayoral candidate in Apalit, survived an attempt on his life after the unidentified men strafed his house late Wednesday.

Of the over 100 fatalities in the campaign for Monday’s polls, 55 have been candidates and politicians, 35 were identified as their supporters, and 12 were civilians, police said. About 135 people have been wounded.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said the figure is still statistically insignificant compared to the 2001 and 2004 elections.

The 2004 presidential election left at least 189 people dead and 279 wounded.

Police have been placed on alert nationwide and the 117,000-strong Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it planned to declare the highest security alert in Metro Manila to stem violence in the final days of campaigning.

Authorities also placed Eastern Mindanao on high alert following the bombings in Tacurong City last Tuesday that left eight people dead and 33 others wounded.

Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana said the high alert status was also issued ahead of the elections on Monday.

President Arroyo has repeatedly condemned the killings and ordered troops to augment the police force in critical areas by setting up 24-hour road checkpoints to enforce a gun ban during the elections.

Nearly 87,000 candidates are vying for 17,000 national and local positions. All 265 House of Representatives seats and half of the 24 Senate seats also are up for grabs.

Proliferation of unlicensed weapons, private armies hired by politicians for protection and intimidation and allegations of cheating result in deaths during every election in the Philippines. -With Edith Regalado, Antonieta Lopez, Jaime Laude, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Celso Amo, Roel Pareño, Ric Sapnu, Shiela Francisco, Denise Limson, AP