7 soldiers killed in NPA ambush

DAVAO CITY — Seven soldiers were killed and six others wounded Thursday during three hours of fighting between government troops and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in a forested barangay in Davao del Norte.

Troops led by Lt. Emmanuel Cruzada were ambushed after one of them stepped on a landmine, which NPA guerrillas had planted on the trail to their campsite.

During the ensuing clash, the soldiers lost high-powered firearms, including an M-60 light machinegun, three M-16 rifles and a radio transceiver.

The military would not release the names of the casualties, pending the notification of their families.

There was no immediate report on the exact number of rebels killed or wounded.

Strong winds prevented military helicopters from landing at the scene of fighting to evacuate the wounded soldiers.

Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya, Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) chief, said the 45 soldiers were on patrol when they encountered some 80 NPA guerrillas in Barangay Sto. Niño in Talaingod town at around 9 a.m.

The rebels suffered an undetermined number of casualties, he added.

Southcom spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero said the fighting started after the NPA rebels under Leonardo Pitao alias Commander Parago fired at the soldiers.

"This was a legitimate encounter," he said. "Our troops were patrolling when they encountered around 80 NPAs. This was part of a bigger AFP operation."

Lucero said Pitao, who heads the Pulang Bagani Command of the Mindanao regional guerrilla unit, led the NPA unit that snatched Army Brig. Gen. Victor Obillo and his aide, Capt. Eduardo Montealto, on Feb. 10, 1999.

At the time, Obillo — the highest Army officer to have been captured by the NPA — was commander of the Army’s 55th engineering brigade based in Davao City.

Lucero said Orbillo and Montealto were released after three months of captivity, and Pitao was later captured in Davao City and detained at the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Pitao was later sent back to Davao to face trial but he jumped bail and returned to the mountains to rejoin his men in fighting the government, he added.

Troops backed by attack helicopters were deployed to block the escape route of the NPA fighters who were reported to have fled with their wounded comrades toward the mountains.

Last year, NPA rebels shot dead Talaingod Mayor Jose Libayao in broad daylight while he was briefing visiting officials from various donor agencies.

In Cagayan de Oro City, the NPA said hit men will be sent to kill politicians who have been found to be "traitors to the revolutionary struggle."

Jorge Madlos alias Ka Oris, CPP-NPA spokesman in Mindanao, said these politicians have been sentenced to death after a "people’s court" found them guilty of the accusations.

Madlos said Benjamin de Veyra, former agrarian reform director for Northern Mindanao, is not included in the NPA hit list.

"Because he is not a combatant," he said.

De Veyra was reportedly a top NPA official in Mindanao who allegedly ordered the torture and killing of thousands of suspected military deep-penetration agents in the 1980s.

However, De Veyra has denied any involvement in the massive purge.

Last week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople warned communist rebel leaders they could be arrested unless they talk peace with the government.

"If they don’t go back to the negotiating table, then all the immunities will be lifted and the JASIG (Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantee) will no longer be in effect as they can be arrested anytime," he said.

However, communist rebels are demanding "formal peace talks" before they sign a peace pact with the government.

From the Netherlands, self-exiled communist leader Jose Ma. Sison said President Arroyo must call for the resumption of "formal panel-panel negotiations" to end the 34-year-old Maoist rebellion.

"The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) welcome Malacañang’s final peace agreement but only as the government panel’s own negotiating position," he said in a statement.

Ople said the government would be forced to junk the JASIG if the CPP and the NDF continue to stonewall on a peace deal offered to them.

"The guarantee will no longer hold," he said. "So if I were (Messrs. Jose Ma.) Sison and (Luis) Jalandoni, they should ponder on this matter very seriously."

Ople said he will ask the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom to remove the terrorist tag on Sison and the CPP-NPA if the rebels agree to sign a peace agreement.

"Once there is a peace agreement, I will request the EU, the US and other countries to remove Sison and the CPP-NPA from their list of foreign terrorist organizations," he said.

Ople said Sison cannot demand that the terrorist label on him and the CPP-NPA be removed before the peace talks resume.

"No way," he said. "But if they agree to negotiate and substantial progress has been made then it’s time for me to revisit the status of the CPP-NPA and Sison as terrorists."

However, Ople said the government will no longer negotiate with the communist rebels if they continue to reject the Arroyo administration’s peace offer. — With Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude