Army, militiamen repulse NPA attack in North Cotabato town

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 14): Army, militiamen repulse NPA attack in North Cotabato town

State forces and militiamen belonging to the 38th Infantry Battalion on Wednesday night repulsed an attack by New People’s Army in Tulunan, North Cotabato, officials said Friday.

Captain Antonio Bulao, 602nd Infantry Brigade spokesperson, said this was part of their diversionary tactic following Monday’s bloody skirmishes in Matanao, Davao del Sur.

Bulao said about 40 heavily armed NPA rebels believed to have come from Davao del Sur tried, but failed, to overrun the Barangay Paraiso detachment in Tulunan, North Cotabato.

“Our soldiers and militiamen were outnumbered yet they defended their detachment from the rebels’ attempt to overrun out base at past 12 midnight,” Bulao said. He did not say how many soldiers and Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit were in the Army detachment.

Bulao could not say whether the NPAs, who quickly fled to the borders of North Cotabato and Davao del Sur, suffered casualties in the 30-minute firefight.

On Monday, at least 11 government forces were killed in an ambush by NPA rebels who earlier attacked the Matanao police station in Mantanao, Davao del Sur and killed two cops and two civilians.

Following the attack on police station, elements of the 39th Infantry Battalion responded but they were ambushed after the rebels set off a banned landmine.

Follow-up operations led to the death of two NPA guerillas and arrest of nine others.

Following the incident last week in Bansalan, Davao del Sur where soldiers set off landmine on an ambulance carrying wounded soldiers, Bulao also said that all military units under the 602nd brigade had been alerted and ordered to intensify its intelligence gathering operations to thwart any attempt similar to Matanao and Bansalan, both in Davao del Sur.

"The rebels could not take on Army positions, the desperate communists rebels attack police stations instead," Bulao said.

A week earlier, 57th Infantry Battalion troopers captured a bomb-making factory of the NPA in Barangay New Sebu, President Roxas in North Cotabato where the Army seized guns, bomb-making devices, subversive documents, P120,000 cash, government militia payroll records and a computer laptop that contained names of businessmen and local officials in the province extending financial assistance to the rebel movement.

Colonel Nilo Vinluan, 57th IB chief, said the militia payroll was among those taken by NPAs in an ambush in Tulunan town last October 2013 that left nine soldiers and militia killed.

Senior Superintendent Ronaldo Llanera, Davao Sur police provincial director, said all police units and its multipliers have been alerted following the intensified NPA offensives.

Llanera also lauded SPO3 Manolo Booc and SPO3 Danny Mualang, who both died in the NPA attack for offering their lives in the service of the people of Matanao.

Llanera said all police offices and military forces in the town are now on full alert.

He said the nine NPA rebels arrested during a pursuit operation by joint police and military forces, have admitted having participated in the attacks in Matanao police station.

Llanera also said that the attacks by NPA in isolated communities around Mt. Apo was meant to divert the attention of government forces conducting continuous operations against the communist rebels.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=625415