Soldiers securing poll machines ambushed; 6 dead, 12 wounded

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Communist rebels ambushed an Army convoy escorting election officials in Compostela Valley yesterday morning, killing six people and wounding 12 others, authorities said.

The convoy was on their way to return vote-counting machines to Maragusan town when NPA guerrillas opened fire on them.

The six fatalities included two soldiers, two militiamen, an election officer and a poll watcher. Wounded were nine other soldiers and two other poll watchers, who were rushed to the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command hospital at Camp Panacan here.

Senior Superintendent Aaron Aquino, Compostela Valley police director, said the soldiers, belonging to the Army’s 66th Infantry Battalion, were in two groups, each one securing the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines of two polling precincts in Barangays Mahayahay and Paloc.

Aquino said the convoy was headed to the Maragusan town proper for the municipal canvassing when it was attacked in Sitio Saranga, Barangay Mahayahay.

Capt. Manuel Garcia, spokesman of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, lamented the incident as a gross violation of human rights by the communist insurgents. 

Despite the attack, Garcia said the two PCOS machines and other election paraphernalia were safely turned over to the municipal canvassing board in Maragusan.

The Army condemned the NPA attack, saying it only manifests the NPA’s treacherous nature as “they do not discriminate their targets and attack even non-combatants and soldiers performing election-related duties.”

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said the ambush was “an outright disregard for human life” and “a grave attempt to jeopardize the country’s democracy.”

Army chief Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu said the incident was unfortunate but noted that this is part of their job as soldiers.

“We expect unlikely things to happen but we are prepared for things that may happen to any soldier in the course of doing his job,” he said at the sidelines of the Philippine Navy’s 112th anniversary celebration at its headquarters in Manila. – With Alexis Romero