No defection to NPA, says Southcom chief

ZAMBOANGA CITY — It was just "black propaganda" of the communists.

Thus said Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko, chief of the military’s Southern Command, as he denied claims of the New People’s Army (NPA) that two soldiers and 60 pro-government militiamen had defected to its ranks in Agusan del Sur.

By making these claims, Kyamko said the insurgents wanted to "demoralize our people in the countryside" and "destabilize and weaken" the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) which has been effective in protecting barangays from the rebels.

Kyamko cited military intelligence information that the two soldiers, Cpl. Edward Querante and Pfc. Boboy Abduhasad, both belonging to the Army’s 29th Infantry Battalion, "were exploited and killed by the NPA."

Kyamko also quoted Col. Leopoldo Maligalig, chief of the Army’s 402nd Infantry Brigade, as saying that all CAFGU units in Agusan del Sur are intact and accounted for.

In another development, the NPA killed a soldier identified as Pvt. Larken Dailay, in Bontoc, Mt. Province yesterday, bringing to nine the number of government troopers slain in renewed clashes with rebels in upland villages in the Cordilleras. — Roel Pareño, Artemio Dumlao