2 Agusan Sur policemen escape from NPA captors

MANILA, Philippines - Two Agusan del Sur policemen, who were seized by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels last Sunday night, escaped from their captors on Thursday after shooting two of them, authorities said.

Determined to save their lives, PO2 Ronald Alan Muñez and PO1 Nemuel España took advantage of the lax security while they were kept in the vicinity of Barangay Maitum in Loreto town.

Muñez and España managed to take off their handcuffs, grabbed the AK-47 rifle of one of the insurgents guarding them, and then gunned down two of their captors.

Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the two police officers, however, got separated as they fled the scene.

They were able to return to their police station safely with the gun they had taken from the rebels.  

Chief Superintendent Gutillio Napenas, Caraga police director, has sent troops to Loreto town to check the presence of NPA guerrillas there.

“These cops where just performing their job against criminality and should not be taken captive by the NPA,” said Napenas, who congratulated Muñez and España for their bravery, determination and dedication to their duty as policemen even if their lives are at risk. 

The rebels snatched the two policemen, along with seven government militiamen, last Sunday while they were conducting surveillance on a crime suspect in Barangay Maitum, Loreto town. The militiamen were earlier freed.