Rescue operations on for 3 Rizal cops seized by NPAs

Police and the military were still hunting down New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who seized three police officers after an ambush last Saturday in Rodriguez, Rizal that left another lawman dead and two others wounded.

Chief Superintendent Perfecto Palad, Calabarzon police director, said they were exerting all efforts to rescue their three policemen taken hostage by the NPA.

The three are Inspector Rex Cuntapay, who celebrated his 31st birthday in the hands of his NPA captors last Monday, and PO1s Alberto Umali and Marvin Agasen, all belonging to the 418th Provincial Mobile Group.

Palad has created Task Force Montalban headed by Senior Superintendent Aaron Fidel to go after rebels under the NPA’s Narciso Antazo Aramil Command led by a certain Macario Liwanag who are believed to be holding the three policemen.

“Joint military and police forces are now combing all probable areas in Rizal, Bulacan and elsewhere where the NPAs may be keeping the hostages,” he said.

“The CPP, NPA and NDF have done a great disservice to the Filipino masses that they claim to be working for. How can they say that when the NPA deliberately put on fire a new police patrol car and ambushed the policemen on board who were just responding to legitimate calls for police assistance from victims of lawlessness?” Palad added.

“We are already hard-passed in providing quality police service to our people given the very limited resources that we have,” he said.

“We are in the process of improving our performance through the recruitment of new policemen and acquisition of patrol cars, firearms and other crime-fighting equipment so that the PNP can be more effective in performing its mandate of protecting and serving the people. With the actions done by the NPAs, they are only alienating the people. They are just showing that they have degenerated into terrorists and plain bandits,” he added.

In a command conference yesterday, Palad issued guidelines on the joint police-military rescue operations.

Senior Superintendent Ireneo Dordas, Rizal police director, said the three captive policemen are alive, as the rebels allowed them to talk to their wives.

The three lawmen asked their wives to seek the help of President Arroyo, Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa and local politicians to intercede for their safe release.

Dordas said he granted the request of the lawmen’s wives for a separate initiative for the safe release of their husbands. – With Ed Amoroso and Non Alquitran