NPA rebs abduct 2 soldiers in Diwalwal
DAVAO CITY – Communist guerrillas abducted two soldiers at a gold rush area in Monkayo, Compostela Valley last Friday, police and provincial officials said.
A platoon of about 30 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels set up a roadblock on a dirt road leading to the mining site on Mt. Diwalwal early Friday, stopping vehicles and checking motorists’ papers, a police report said.
Two Army sergeants – S/Sgt. Huberto Jerasmeo and Sgt. Napoleon Corbita – were taken from their vehicles in Sitio Mebatas, Barangay Upper Ulip, about three kilometers from Mt. Diwalwal.
Their fate remains unknown, the report added. The other motorists were unharmed and later allowed to pass as the guerrillas left the area.
Compostela Valley Gov. Arthur Uy confirmed the abductions but declined further comment.
The 5,000-member NPA has been waging a 39-year Maoist rebellion and maintains a large presence in the gold-rush region around the Compostela Valley town of Monkayo.
They extort money from the small-scale miners to finance the rebellion and occasionally destroy mining and milling equipment of those who refuse to pay, according to authorities. – Edith Regalado
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