The five police officers who were reportedly abducted by the
New People’s Army (NPA) last Saturday in Paquibato District in this city are
not prisoners of war (POW), according to the region’s highest ranking police
officer, Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan.
This after a certain Rigoberto Sanchez, who claimed to be
the spokesperson of the NPA Regional Operations Command-Southern Mindanao
Region, admitted that the group’s 1st Pulang Bagani Command was behind the
abduction and held the five officers as captives for being prisoners of war.
During a joint AFP-PNP press conference at the Task Force
Davao headquarters Wednesday, Gaerlan maintained that the abductees were only
responding to the community upon receiving report from the residents that a
civilian was hurt in a clash between government forces and a “lawless armed
group” around 7 a.m. on Saturday.
Chief Insp. Leonardo V. Tarongoy, the station commander of
Paquibato Police Station, PO3 Rosenie L. Cabuenas, PO3 Rudolf Pacete, PO3 Abdul
Azis A. Ali Jr. and PO2 Neil C. Arellano, and civilian driver Ronald Dordas
were on board their patrol vehicle en route to Brgy. Salapawan when they were
flagged down in Brgy. Mapula.
Gaerlan maintained that the captives were only performing
their regular functions and were armed only with handguns.
In a press statement, Capt. Rhyan B. Batchar, chief of the
10 Infantry Division’s Public Affairs Office, said that 60 members of an “armed
lawless group” attacked a detachment at Sitio Quiman-anao, Brgy. Salapawan,
Paquibato District.
Injured were Mario Carliaman, member of the CAFGU Active
Auxiliary, and Randy Ramirez, a civilian who was shot on his right shoulder
while gathering firewood.
The CAFGUs reportedly retaliated but immediately escaped
when the attackers, who carted away 19 assorted high-powered firearms, burned
the detachment.
Last Monday, soldiers of the 84th Infantry Battalion engaged
in two encounters NPA guerillas at Sitio Banban, Brgy. Lumiad, Paquibato
District.
Batchar said they were the same group who attacked the
Quiman-anao Detachment in Brgy. Salapawan last Friday.
The clash killed two from each side and left another two
soldiers wounded.
Chief Supt. Wilben M. Mayor, spokesperson of the Philippine
National Police (PNP), said in a statement issued Wednesday that they condemned
the attacks against the law enforcers, saying that the police officers are
civilians and not even members of the military.
“The Philippines
Gaerlan added that a Special Investigation Task Group
(SITG), headed by Davao City Police Office (DCPO) director Vicente Danao, is
gathering information that will lead to the location of the rebel group and
their abductees.
But he suspected that they are still in Paquibato area as
police have set up new checkpoints and strengthened the existing ones
going to and from the area to prevent the rebel group from transporting the
five abducted policemen to another place.
Gaerlan said they already alerted police authorities in Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions to keep watch of
suspected rebels entering their areas of responsibility.
He called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to do
its investigation as they received reports that his men were tied or handcuffed
to makeshift animal cages under subhuman conditions.
http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2016/04/20/5-cops-abducted-by-npa-not-prisoners-of-war-says-davao-regions-top-cop/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.