NPAs raid Zambales cop station

Communist rebels raided a police station in Zambales late Friday and seized weapons without firing a shot, police said.

The raid on the police station in Botolan town occurred when two men accompanied a woman who allegedly wanted to file a rape complaint, said Chief Superintendent Alejandro Lapinid, Central Luzon police director.

While the police officers were interviewing the alleged victim, three men wearing black National Bureau of Investigation jackets arrived, saying they needed to speak with the police chief to coordinate a local anti-crime operation.

Moments later, 12 gunmen wearing the same jackets arrived, immediately disarmed the four officers on duty and handcuffed them, Lapinid said.

The rebels seized five high-powered weapons before fleeing.

"This is one ploy of the (New People’s Army)," Lapi—nid said, adding that the officers should have learned to be wary of the tactic from previous NPA raids.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Arturo Lomibao ordered the provincial and town police chiefs removed from their posts, and the replacement of the entire Botolan police force for re-training.

Lapinid said the rebels fled in two vehicles they reportedly stole earlier Friday. He immediately ordered police to establish roadblocks around Botolan and nearby towns.

Communist guerrillas are active in Zambales.

The guerrillas are on US and European lists of terrorist organizations. They suspended Norwegian-brokered talks with the government in 2004, saying the government had refused to take steps to remove them from the terror blacklists.

The rebels, who have been waging a rural-based Marxist rebellion since the late 1960s, number about 7,500, according to the military. — Ric Sapnu, Bebot Sison Jr. and AP