A top military official here has described the abduction of a police officer by elements of the New People’s Army in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Monday morning as a form of “threat” for candidates to pay “permit to campaign” and “permit to win” to the rebel group.
“They are doing that so as national and local candidates campaigning in remote areas would now be afraid to campaign there. They will be forced now to pay,” said Col. Leopoldo Galon, commander of the 5th Civil Relations Group of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Galon told members of the Tri-Media Organization for Peace and Development (TROPA) in a press conference Tuesday morning at Machika Restaurant that candidates should not be cowed by the communist rebels’ “old antics” and should ask for security from us and the local police during their campaign sorties in remote barangays.
He said that Army forces are now closely coordinating with the local police to conduct pursuit operation to rescue PO3 Ruben Nojapa from the hands of his captors.
Nojapa was with fellow policeman, PO1 Randy Masambong and high school teacher Romel Sumbilon when they were reportedly snatched in a checkpoint at Purok 1, Barangay Anislagan in Nabunturan,
But Masambong managed to escape while Sumbilon was released later after undergoing stress debriefing at a rebel camp.
On Tuesday morning, the NPA’s Front Committee 27 issued a statement with an admission that Nojapa is now in their custody and that he was reportedly taken for his alleged military abuses.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=508536
The 5th CRG is the PSYOP/CMO organ of EASTMINCOM. CRP spins abduction of policeman in an effort to discredit CPP/NPA.
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