COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The National Democratic Front (ND) admitted yesterday that communist rebels deliberately attacked a team of police highway operatives in Makilala, North Cotabato due to complaints that they were mulcting from motorists.
The NDF’s Far South Region Command, in a statement, said the attack, which left two members of the Traffic Management Group (TMG) dead and four others wounded, was perpetrated by the New People’s Army’s Front 72, which operates in North Cotabato and Davao del Sur.
Senior Superintendent Cornelio Salinas, North Cotabato police director, said the rebels killed “non-combatants” merely enforcing traffic laws to ensure the safety of motorists plying the North Cotabato-Davao Highway.
Salinas said the slain highway operatives, PO3 Rufino Sumugat and PO1 Raul Pablo, had never been the subject of any complaints of misbehavior.
The rebels, on board light trucks, arrived at the spot where the two policemen and their companions were inspecting motorists of their licenses and vehicle registration documents and, without warning, opened fire with assault rifles, provoking a gunbattle.
Sumugat and Pablo were killed on the spot, while four others – SPO2 Ponciano Pahkiat and three passersby – were wounded in the ensuing firefight.
Salinas said the killing of the two policemen was a serious violation of international humanitarian laws which the NPA boasts of being an advocate of.