A member of the Philippine Army’s Task Force Davao manning a checkpoint reacts on the presence of journalists in the village of Toril in Davao City in Mindanao. The soldier warned journalists not to take photographs at the checkpoint for a still unknown reason in this library file. Communist rebels on Monday, June 17, 2013 have seized 5 army soldiers at a village in Paquibato District in Davao City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
The Philippine Army launched an operation to rescue five soldiers captured by communist rebels in the southern city of Davao, officials said Tuesday.
Officials said the soldiers were returning to base on Monday afternoon when New People’s Army rebels flagged down their motorcycle taxis in Paquibato district, a known stronghold of the communist group.
The rebels seized the soldiers, including their two drivers, who were released unharmed. One army lieutenant, Neven Canitan, managed to escape, according to their commander, Lt. Col. Inocencio Pasaporte.
The soldiers were identified as Corporal Emmanuel Quezon, Private First Class Ronald Gura, Bernie Padilla, Donato Estandia and Private Marteniano Pasiagas, Jr.
Pasaporte commands the 60th Infantry Battalion in Davao. “There is an ongoing operation to track down the rebels and their hostages,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He said the soldiers were part of a peace and development group which is in-charge of a forthcoming feeding program for grade school students in Paquibato district.
“The soldiers are part of that group because we are preparing to launch a feeding program for school kids in partnership with the (global volunteer organization) Kiwanis International and other stakeholders,” he said.
Pasaporte said the soldiers were in civilian clothes when seized by rebels. The fate of the soldiers remains unknown, but the rebel group has previously said it would carry out offensive operations in the southern Philippines.
The 10th Infantry Division and the Eastern Mindanao Command have not released any statement about the capture of the soldiers and their spokesmen ignored phone calls from journalists.
Davao City, over the years, has become one of the NPA’s most strategic strongholds in Mindanao, enjoying a strong civilian supports in far-flung villages such as Paquibato district.
The rebels have previously seized many soldiers in Mindanao and held them on trial for various criminal charges ranging from human right violations to murder of political activists and tribal leaders and innocent civilians suspected of aiding or supporting the NPA.
Government peace talks with the rebels have been on and off with both accusing each other reneging on many agreements, including demands by the communist group for Manila to release all political prisoners languishing in jails across the country.
The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate state in the country.
It also has forged an alliance with the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is currently negotiating peace with the Aquino government, but talks are slow and the many MILF leaders are becoming restless over the prospect of signing a political accord with Manila.
http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/2013/06/philippine-army-launches-operation-to.html
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