Alert up vs possible NPA attacks in South Cotabato

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 24): Alert up vs possible NPA attacks in South Cotabato
 
Police have intensified their security and intelligence operations in South Cotabato province and neighboring areas following reports of fresh attacks allegedly being planned by communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels on police stations and military outposts in the area.

Senior Supt. Romeo Ver, South Cotabato police director, said Monday they raised the security alert in all police units in the province due to reported movements by NPA rebels in several parts of the area.

He said the NPA movements were specifically monitored in remote villages of T’boli and Tampakan towns.

“We should remain alert and vigilant as intelligence reports showed that the NPA rebels are again planning some atrocities at the opportune time against police and military units,” he said at the regular flag-raising program of the South Cotabato Provincial Police Office in Koronadal City.

He said the report cited that a group of NPA rebels were able to acquire 500 standard Philippine National Police (PNP) general office attire or GOA type A uniforms and another 500 camouflage field service uniforms in Davao City.

Ver said the rebels might use the police uniforms for possible attacks on local police stations and military outposts.

“They might be planning to stage some attacks by disguising as police or military men,” the official said.

Owing to this, Ver said he issued a memorandum to all police stations and other units within the province’s 10 towns and lone city suspending the unannounced inspections.

“There will be no unannounced inspection of police stations, especially during night time,” he said.

In March, about 20 heavily armed NPA rebels attacked a community police action center or in Barangay Sinolon in T’boli town but were repulsed by local policemen.

The attack resulted to the wounding of a civilian and the killing of two NPA rebels, one of whom was initially rushed to a hospital in Surallah town.

In January 2009, rebels belonging to the NPA’s Valentin Palamine Command headed by Emmanuel Fernandez alias Ka Bobo stormed the municipal hall complex and police station of Tampakan town, carting away some high-powered firearms and ammunition.

1Lt. Bethuel Barber, civil-military operations chief of the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion (IB), earlier confirmed that they had monitored monitored fresh movements of suspected NPA rebels under the Front 73 in some communities in T’boli and Lake Sebu towns to specifically recruit new members.

The official said the rebels have been reportedly visiting T’boli tribal communities and “dubiously” promising residents of some benefits in exchange for joining their cause.

Prior to the May 13 elections, the 27th IB also monitored movements of NPA units within the boundary areas of the municipalities of Lake Sebu, Tboli and Surallah in South Cotabato; Sarangani and South Cotabato boundary; and, Koronadal City and Columbio, Sultan Kudarat boundary.

Major Gerald Monfort, 27th IB executive officer, said a big group of NPA rebels was confirmed to have been moving towards the boundary of Koronadal City and Columbio in Sultan Kudarat.

The official said the rebels were allegedly composed of combined units under the NPA’s Far South Mindanao Revolutionary Committee and with “heavily-armed” members coming from as far as Matanao in Davao del Sur.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=537366