9 killed, 9 hurt in Negros OCC ambush: Task group created vs NPA assailants

CEBU, Philippines - A special investigation task force was formed by the Police Regional Office-6 to probe and catch the communist rebels who staged an ambuscade last Sunday afternoon at La Castellana town in Negros Occidental that left nine persons dead and nine others wounded.

Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz, Jr., PRO-6 director, describing the attack as the biggest made by NPAs on civilians in Western Visayas in recent years, said the Special Investigation Task Group (CITG) Las Castellana shall be headed by Sr. Supt. Celestino Guara Jr,. officer-in-charge of the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO).

The task group will have two units—one consisting of members of the local police, the CIDG and the Regional Public Safety Battalion-6 that is tasked to investigate the incident for the filing of charges against the identified members of the NPA; and the other consisting of military personnel that will conduct pursuit operations against the assailants.

Cruz said they would do everything to bring to justice those who were responsible for what he also considered “the most barbaric” attack in the region by the insurgents.

The eight fatalities were literally peppered with bullets, and the only policeman among them was beyond recognition after he was sprayed with bullets all over his head. “Tinadtad talaga sila ng bala. The ambush site was a picture of bodies and scattered brains,” said Cruz.

Cruz said they could not just accept the statement of the CPP-NPA admitting that the incident was carried out by their troops but was not sanctioned by higher leadership. “The incident involved civilians who were unarmed. To say that they were killed like animals would be an understatement,” he said.

Police said those killed were a policeman and eight civilians, three of whom were councilmen and the rest were tanods and members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) assigned at Brgy. Cabacungan police outpost, also in La Castellana.

Guara, condemning the ambush in the strongest possible terms, said La Castellana Police reports stated that the victims were on a truck on their way home to the town proper from a fiesta in Barangay Puso when ambushed by at least 30 suspected NPA members.

The armed men first shot Ricky Dingcong, the truck driver, who died on the spot. The attack was followed by a series of gunfire killing PO1 Richard Cania, Brgy Councilmen Lito Lucban, Teotimo Espleguera and Mario Ricablanca, BPAT members Ulysses Camayor, Jonathan Mateo and Ramil Trompeta and civilian Virginia Ordonez.

Two other injured La Castellana policemen, PO2 Jeffrey Alvarez and PO3 Constantino Villegas, were able to return fire, but they later fled due to overwhelming firepower of the ambushers, investigations further showed.

Also injured in the ambush were civilians Roger Behar, Jerry Lacuedo, Jamil Roma, Jason Oximar, Bonifacio Bayate, Cristituto Perolino and Victoriano Donasco.

La Castellana Police chief, Sr. Insp. Gary Alan Resuma, said yesterday the victims were requested to help secure the fiesta in Puso, a mountainous village near the boundary of La Castellana and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.

Resuma, however, said the assailants could not be identified yet as investigation is still going on at this time. But BPAT member Edwin Sevilla, who survived the ambush, said the armed men—positioned at the left side of the road, which is planted with sugarcane—shouted: “Mabuhay ang NPA!”

Policemen and Scene of the Crime operatives recovered from the scene at least 300 spent shells of AK50 and M16 assault rifles, and .45-caliber pistol.

Cruz, in condemning the attack, called on the Commission on Human Rights and left-leaning or progressive groups, such as Karapatan and Bayan Muna, to condemn also the ambush.

Meanwhile, the top regional police official said financial assistance will be given to the killed and wounded police personnel, and that authorities are coordinating with the DSWD to extend assistance to the slain and wounded civilians. (FREEMAN)