NPA rebs kill 4, hold 22 hostage in Agusan raid

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Communist guerrillas killed four people, including a militiaman, and abducted 22 others in a raid on a tribal community in Agusan del Sur last Friday, the military said.

As of yesterday, eight hostages remained at large while the rest were released in batches as the rebels fled pursuing government troops, said Cpl. Max Caro, commander of the Army’s 36th Infantry Battalion.

Caro said the heavily armed rebels, numbering at least 50, torched houses, killed a former guerrilla-turned-government militiaman and three of his relatives, and wounded four other members of the Banwaon tribe in the mountainous village of Binicalan in San Luis, Agusan del Sur.

The guerrillas snatched 22 other members of the tribe, using them as human shields as they fled toward the forested border with Bukidnon.

The military learned about the incident the following day, and it took some time for soldiers to reach the isolated area, Caro said.

The remote hamlet is located near the Agusan River basin.

"There is an ongoing operation. Troops are tracking down the rebels and their captives," said Maj. Johnny Macanas, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division.

Caro said the rebels were apparently trying to intimidate the community, which used to support the guerrillas but then turned against them.

Among those killed was Balintinao Bucalas, a former NPA rebel who had joined the pro-government militia, he said. Many of those abducted were also former guerrillas who have since surrendered, he added.

"The attack could be a retaliation by the NPA for the surrender of their former comrades," Macanas said.

Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya, chief of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command, has ordered troops to pursue the rebels and rescue the remaining hostages.

"We got the report and the military is doing everything to recover all the hostages safely. Troops have been tracking down the terrorists," Abaya said.

In San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, meanwhile, suspected NPA hit men fatally ambushed a local police officer, PO3 Benhur Pontillas, and wounded his 12-year-old son.

Father and son were on their way home aboard a motorcycle when at least 10 armed men waylaid them along the national highway in Barangay Pao.

The Maoist rebels have been waging a 33-year rebellion.

Earlier this year, the US State Department placed the 9,000-member NPA on its list of "foreign terrorist organizations." — Roel Pareño, Ben Serrano, Ric Sapnu and wire reports