Guihulngan cops among fatalities: 7 killed in ambush

CEBU, Philippines - Alerted by a report of a city councilor being waylaid by unknown men, 15 personnel of the Guihulngan City police in Negros Oriental sped off to the hinterland barangay of Magsaysay, about 15 kilometers from the city proper, before 10 a.m. yesterday.

Unknown to them, a group of about 60 heavily armed suspected communist rebels had positioned themselves at a hilly portion of Sitio Mandi-e. There, the police convoy was greeted by bursts of gunfire.

Six from the police side were confirmed killed from the attack: Superintendent Arnel Arpon, city police chief; PO2 Alfredo Dunque; PO2 Alvin Bolandres; PO3 Teovic Agusto; SPO2 Nicasio Tabilon; and SPO1 Jesael Ancheta. They were onboard a Mahindra multicab when bullets started to rain on them.

A police officer who survived the ordeal told The FREEMAN that the wounded Arpon was shot point-blank by the rebels.

Three others on the multicab were wounded –PO3 Jordan Balderas, PO2 Jury Maribao, and SPO4 Jerome Delara. They were rescued from the clash site by concerned motorcycle-for-hire or habal-habal drivers and taken to Barangay Poblacion. They were eventually rushed to Silliman University Medical Center in Dumaguete City.

Six more policemen on board motorcycles at the time of the ambush managed to survive. They served as part of the “verification team.”

Police said the driver of Guihulngan City Councilor Edison dela Rita, whose name could not yet be established as of this writing, was also among the fatalities.

Initial investigation showed that Councilor dela Rita and his driver were heading to Poblacion from the councilor’s house in Balugo, the adjacent barangay to Magsaysay, when they were waylaid first by the rebels.

Dela Rita managed to call the police for help through his phone.

In response, Arpon immediately formed a team of 15 police personnel in full battle gear.

Unfortunately, upon reaching the ambush area in Mandi-e, the police were fired upon by the rebels using two Cal. 60 machine guns and other high-powered firearms.

Dela Rita survived the attack and was still at the police station in Guihulngan as of this writing.

Tricky terrain

Superintendent Carlos Lacuesta, deputy police provincial director for operations, said the attackers were members of the New People’s Army.

As a former police chief of Guihulngan and a resident of that city, Lacuesta is familiar with the terrain of the ambush site.

He said the responding police had to slow down while maneuvering a curve and an ascending national road in Mandi-e. On the other side is a cliff.

Lacuesta said he can just surmise that during the first volley of bullets, the possibility of the policemen surviving was very slim because “the enemies were in an advantageous position.”  This was made even worse by the fact that they rebels were using high-powered firearms.

Lacuesta would not say there was a failure of intelligence because the police have been on a heightened alert status since the reported arrival of 20 suspected CPP-NPA rebels on board a boat sometime in May.

Simulation exercises on how to defend the Guihulngan City police station were conducted last week and the provincial command, together with Senior Superintendent Julius Muñez, also inspected the station’s security measures just last Wednesday.

Arpon is the second chief of police to be killed in an ambush in Guihulngan City. The first was Senior Inspector Ramil Viscaya, who was killed along the national highway of the city sometime in 2004.

Senior Superintendent Henry Biñas, director of Negros Oriental Police Office, is now supervising the hot pursuit operation against the suspects, along with elements of the Provincial Public Safety Company and the 79th Infantry Battalion.

Authorities are scouring areas near Magsaysay to hunt down members of the regional southern front of the CPP-NPA.

Reactions

In Cebu, police have assured they are ready for similar attacks.

“Full alert pa rin tayo. Lahat ng ating chiefs of police, always ready na man,” said Senior Superintendent Joel Doria, director of Cebu City Police Office.

CCPO Spokesperson Chief Inspector Ramoncelio Sawan said the heightened alert in Cebu during the first series of ASEAN ministerial meetings in April has not yet been lifted.

Sawan said the armed forces and the police also conducted a joint coordination meeting yesterday and no threat was noted so far.

For his part, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino has called for a deeper investigation into the motive of the reported ambush of dela Rita that led to the policemen’s deaths.

Dino said his office is now coordinating with Chief Superintendent Edmund Gonzales, police director of Negros Island Region.

“OPAV is ready to assist the families of our policemen who were killed in action and wounded in action. My sympathies go to the fallen heroes who gave their lives for the service,” Dino added. — with Mae Clydyl L. Avila and Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon (FREEMAN)