Ecija encounter: 1 killed, 3 nabbed

Joint police and Army elements encountered Wednesday at least 14 heavily armed rejectionist rebels in Nueva Ecija, killing one and captured three others. One policeman was also wounded.

Six high powered firearms composed of M16 Baby Armalites and M14 rifles were recovered by government troops from the killed and captured rebels, said to be behind the spate of kidnappings and killings in Nueva Ecija and in nearby Aurora province.

Senior Superintendent Luisito Palmera, Nueva Ecija police provincial commander, said firefight erupted in San Leonardo and Zaragoza towns all in the province.

Prior to the encounter, Palmera said they received reports on the presence of more or less 14 members belonging to the Revolutionary Proletariat Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) headed by a certain Ric Peralta, holed up at the ice plant and cold storage in Barangay Castellano, San Leonardo town.

Policemen headed by Chief Inspector Rhoderick Armamento, Nueva Ecija police intelligence chief, while approaching the said compound were fired upon by the rebels who were coming out of the said place aboard a barangay ambulance and a Besta Van, triggering a firefight.

To evade arrest, the rebels later broke up into small groups. One group commandeered a passing Toyota Revo and a passenger jeepney and sped toward the direction of Bulacan while the other group commandeered an owner-type jeep in Jaen town and headed for Zaragoza.

The fleeing rebels who engaged government troops in a running gunbattle resulted to the killing of one RPA-ABB member Miguel del Cruz, alias "Ka Eagle" in Barangay Sta. Lucia in Zaragoza. PO2 Roco Matic was also wounded.

Three other suspected rebels identified as Raymond Tolentino, 22, from Abra; Joebert Dumlao, alias Ka Maui, 19, from Abra; and Jongkol Francisco, alias Ka Jong, 18 of Barangay Vega, Bongabon, Nueva Ecija, were cornered by police and Army elements.

The rebels, also tagged as the Nueva Ecija Red Vigilante Group (RVG) was also behind the series of abductions and murder in the province, including that of Leopoldo dela Cruz, who was abducted and was killed last year in Talavera town.

Palmera said the latest victim of the group was SPO1 Joey Arellano, whom they executed in the presence of his children. — With Ding Cervantes, Mike Frialde, Manny Galvez and Ric Sapnu