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[av_heading heading=’PRO-6 SENDS MORE COPS TO MAASIN NPA rebels claim ‘successful’ ambush ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY RUBY SILUBRICO
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Sunday, November 26, 2017
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ILOILO City – The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) is beefing up forces in Maasin, Iloilo after the New People’s Army (NPA) ambushed officers in Sitio Camansi, Barangay Bolo.
What happened at around 6 p.m. on Friday was another “act of terrorism,” according to Superintendent Gilbert Gorero, PRO-6 spokesperson.
Gorero did not say how many more officers exactly were sent to Maasin, some 25 kilometers from this capital city, but noted that they will work with Philippine Army soldiers in pursuit of the rebels.
“We have to continue our offensive operations. We have sent more men to the area,” the PRO-6 official stressed.
The regional police had a similar description of the ambush of officers in Sibalom, Antique last Wednesday.
This was the third time that police officers in Maasin were attacked by NPA rebels this year.
On June 18, the rebels stormed the municipal police station and immobilized nine officers while just this Nov. 12, rebels fired at the detachment of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office’s 3rd Maneuver Platoon, also in Barangay Bolo.
The NPA claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
“Matagumpay na isinagawa ang isang yunit sa ilalim ng Jose Percival Estocada Jr. Command (JPEC) Central Panay ang pag-ambus sa tropa ng Regional Public Safety Battalion-6 (RPSB-6) sa Barangay Bolo, Maasin, Iloilo bandang alas 6 ng gabi, Nobyembre 24, 2017,” the rebels’ Coronacion Chiva “Waling-waling” Command said in a statement.
“Organisado at walang kaswalti na nakaatras ang yunit ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan,” the statement read.
Police Officer 1 Joefill Odon, 31, of Cabatuan town was the lone police casualty in the Friday attack. He sustained head and back injuries.
Twelve other members of the Regional Mobile Forces Battalion – formerly the Regional Public Safety Battalion – were injured.
Latest information from the PRO-6 identified them as:
* Inspector Joy Melvin Dulce
* Police Officer 1 (PO1) Delby Bachiller
* PO1 Rolando Lozada
* PO1 Vincent Yasay
* PO1 April Ray Ansag
* PO1 Rolly Talento
* PO1 Kim Iber Cornel
* PO1 Keneth Delejero
* PO1 Paul John Banquillo
* PO1 Jay Christopher Ramos
* PO1 Mark Vienard Davila
* PO3 Jose Manuel Bana-ay
Forty-three officers on board a Hi-Lux pickup and a PRO-6 patrol truck passed by the village where three improvised explosive devices detonated, Gorero said.
After the explosion, shooting ensued. The officers fired back while sustaining shrapnel wounds until the rebels withdrew, he said.
“The wounded police personnel were now recovering,” said the PRO-6 spokesperson.
The officers’ vehicles were destroyed, too.
Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, PRO-6 director, have mixed feelings about the Friday ambush.
“Sad, because we lost another good cop, but [at the same time] it was glorious because our policemen showed bravery and heroism,” Binay said.
On Thursday, Binag ordered offensives against the NPA across Western Visayas after the ambush in Sibalom, Antique. “The PRO-6 is ready to fight,” he declared./PN
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