TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines- The Cagayan provincial police chief survived an encounter with members of the communist guerrilla on Monday late morning, June 26.
Reports reaching Superintendent Chevalier Iringan, information officer of Philippine National Police (PNP) -Cagayan Valley regional unit, revealed that Senior Superintendent Warren Tolito and his team was ensued in a firefight with New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay San Carlos in the boundary of Gattaran and Baggao towns.
Iringan said Tolito was with Cagayan provincial police and the Regional Public Safety Battalion conducting a combat operation in the area, following a rebel attack in Baggao town on Sunday evening, June 25.
Firefight is still ongoing as of 4:25 pm on Monday.
Police said two civilians were hurt in Baggao town attack.
In a phone interview, Police Superintendent Rafael Pagalilauan, information officer of PNP-Cagayan, said about 30 NPA rebels attacked the house of Dexter Remudaro, a retired soldier, in Barangay San Jose in Baggao around 9 pm on Sunday.
Pagalilauan said investigators suspect that Remudaro was the main target, but he was not in his house when the rebels launched the attack. His son and one of his aides, however, were wounded.
He said the attack might the rebel’s way of getting back at Remudaro for his former job as military.
The NPA’s Henry Abraham Command had since admitted to launching the attack.
In a statement sent to Forum, Fernan Cagayan, spokesperson of the NPA Cagayan, claimed that two military intelligence were killed in the firefight. Police, however, denied that there were fatalities in the attack.
The statement said Remudaro’s house is being rented by the Military Intelligence Group (MIG) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“The MIG unit was punished for actively spying on activists and revolutionary forces. They are also responsible for the 2006 abduction and deaths of peasant activists Joey Javier, Dionisio Battad and Arthur Orpilla, who were leaders of Kagimungan, a Cagayan farmers organization. In the following year, peasant leader Anthony Licyayo was also killed. The MIG unit was also involved in the arson of community radio Radyo Cagayano and the San Jose Multipurpose Cooperative. In 2014, they were also involved in the abduction of a farmer activist from Barangay Asinga Via,” the statement said. Northernforum.net
