Reds torch cellsite in Quezon

CANDELARIA, Quezon – Communist guerrillas burned down a cellsite of Globe Telecom in Barangay Masin here Thursday night, and authorities said the company’s refusal to pay "revolutionary taxes" triggered the attack.

Senior Superintendent Roberto Rosales, Quezon police director, said at least four New People’s Army (NPA) rebels barged into the cellsite compound at about 11:10 p.m., disarmed the lone security guard, Manolo Montepar of Vismin Security Agency, and planted a molotov bomb in the electronic equipment.

Witnesses said the explosion was heard as far as two kilometers from the cellsite. The blast destroyed the tower’s central room and motor generator.

Superintendent Isidro Maca—lisan, Candelaria police chief, said his men found two hand grenades, two M-16 cartridges and 20 caliber .45 bullets.

Macalisan said the rebels also took the caliber .38 revolver and handheld radio of Montepar who sustained burns and bruises on the neck.

The attack on the Globe Tele—com cellsite occurred as police units in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) area were placed on heightened alert due to reports that the NPA was plotting to topple down a repeater station in Tagaytay City and other vital installations in Southern Tagalog.

Chief Superintendent Enrique Galang, Calabarzon police director, said the police and the military are ready to thwart any attack on the Tagaytay repeater station as well as on the power lines and towers of the National Power Corp.

According to reports, NPA guerrillas have been sighted in Tagaytay and the Cavite towns of Maragondon and Magallanes in the past days.

The same reports said NPA spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal was seen with three of his hit men in Tagaytay two days ago.

Cavite Gov. Ayong Maliksi, however, said the reports were "mere speculations" and "unverified," noting that two top NPA leaders in Southern Tagalog were killed in a clash with policemen and soldiers in General Trias town two weeks ago.

Slain in the shootout were Jose Arquiza, alias Ka Morris, head of the NPA’s Sparrow Unit; and Ariel Hernandez, alias Enteng, head of the Cavite Party Committee.

Meanwhile, several hours after the Candelaria attack, two suspected guerrillas were slain in an encounter with elements of the 415th Police Mobile Group, the 76th Infantry Battalion and the 7th Scout Ranger Regiment in Barangay Limbon in Sariaya, Quezon. – With Rene Alviar