NPA spokesman claims attack on police station punishment for  “Tokhang”

March 14, 2017

La Trinidad- Communist guerillas said complaints of local villagers against the police’s “Oplan Tokhang” prompted Sunday’s raid on the headquarters of the Mablicong town police.

Martin Montana, spokesperson of the New Peoples Army-Ilocos, said Sunday’s raid saw  rebels took seven M16 assault rifles, three pistols and four mobile phones after taking over the police camp in Malibcong for an hour.

Five policemen from the Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) of the Abra police were rushed there but New People’s Army rebels surprised them while on a convoy to Malibcong town around 11am Monday.

Police Officer 2 Jessie Trinidad, Police Officers 1 Marlon dela Paz, Gerome Baldos, Kennon Sanggoy and Von Harold Layao, though hurt in the exchange of gunfire with rebels, were though declared safe Monday afternoon.

The five, with several policemen, were on a convoy with Abra police director Sr. Supt. Alexander Tagum to check on the Malibcong town police headquarters when rebels fired an M203 grenade launcher on them followed by automatic gunfire.

Senior Inspector Grace Marron, Abra police spokesperson said Tagum was not hurt.

Sunday night and Monday morning’s attack was the latest attack by the NPA in the Cordillera after rebels torched two trucks of the Philex Mining Corp. in Itogon, Benguet on the third week of February. DMS