Cavite police chief, 3 others wounded in rebel ambush

MAGALLANES, Cavite — This town’s police chief and three of his men were wounded in an ambush staged by about 10 suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels yesterday.

The victims — police chief Inspector Mamerto Malubay, SPO1 Reynaldo Ebena, SPO1 Ronald Manalo and PO1 Renato Bergado — were rushed to the San Lorenzo Hospital in Naic town.

Malubay was hit in the head, while Manalo was in critical condition with a gunshot wound also in the head.

All four were part of an eight-man police team on board a patrol vehicle en route to Barangay Talipungo to check reports that NPA rebels were roaming around the area when they were waylaid at about 1:30 p.m.

Senior Superintendent Roberto Rosales, Cavite police director, said that despite being outnumbered, Malubay and his men were able to extricate themselves from the rebels’ killing zone.

Those who survived the attack were SPO1 Eduardo Noveno, SPO2 Rolando Quias, SPO1 Maximo Mojeca and SPO1 Eduardo Papa.

Rosales said the Army’s Special Forces (SF), the 740th Air Force Battalion and the Cavite police are now pursuing the rebels.

Last month, a senior police officer was also killed in an NPA ambush in Silang, Cavite.

NPA national spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal has owned up to the killing of Superintendent Eriberto Paglinawan, police chief of Cabuyao, Laguna, near Camp Castaneda, home of the Philippine National Police Academy.