ComVal police launch solid campaign against insurgents

From the Daily Tribune (Sep 8): ComVal police launch solid campaign against insurgents

The Philippine National Police in Compostela Valley is launching an all-out campaign against the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in the province with further strengthening of the existing chokepoints in the province’s 11 municipalities.

These chokepoints will strictly monitor people going in and out of any municipality of the province. Those who will be caught acting suspiciously will undergo questioning to doublecheck if they are members of NPA.

“We are not letting our guards down. We know that this area is a hotbed for rebels,” said ComVal police chief Senior Supt. Camilo Cascolan in an interview by The Daily Tribune. So far, according to the police chief, there are seven chokepoints in the entire province.

These chokepoints are manned by PNP personnel 24 hours a day, Cascolan said. “We have our strategic plan and various activities aimed at curbing rebel activities,” the official, a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 1986, said.

Aside from the strategic plan, the ComVal PNP has also launched the most peaceful municipality campaign. “This program has initiatives versus all criminals,” the official added.

Meanwhile, Cascolan declined to confirm if there was really bacteria in the landmine planted by NPA rebels in Pantukan, Compostela Valley that injured seven soldiers. “It is just a presumption but it has to be proven,” he said.

Injured in the attack were soldiers belonging to the Army’s 28th Infantry Battalion.

“The 28th IB is new in the area that’s why they don’t know the place well,” Cascolan, a veteran of many fierce encounters with rebels during his early years in the military, explained further.

According to Armed Forces of the Philippines public information office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, the landmine was contaminated with the bacteria Enterobacter cloacae and Streptococcus agalactiae, which are commonly found in the human intestine.

The military said the toxins found in the landmine could cause cardiac arrest. The landmine was the 21st believed to have been planted by the NPA this year in the Davao region and Cotabato province.

However, the NPA Southern Mindanao Regional Command denied the allegation they were using chemicals in the landmines.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/nation/item/18923-comval-police-launch-solid-campaign-against-insurgents