PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — THE Philippine National Police yesterday bared a reported attempt by the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, to regain control in barangays already declared free from insurgents.
PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Samuel D. Pagdilao Jr. said the abduction of a barangay leader in Compostela Valley by NPA guerrillas, as documented by the PNP Human Rights Affairs Office, could be part of the CPP-NPA’s strategy to regain control and influence over remote villages that had been cleared of rebels by government forces.
“Our intelligence assessment indicates a massive effort by the CPP-NPA and its legal front organizations to field sympathetic candidates for the forthcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections scheduled on Oct. 29 for the movement to regain lost ground,” Pagdilao said.
The PNP estimates that the CPP-NPA enjoys significant mass base support in 2,224 barangays. The rebel group is at present undertaking expansion efforts in 5,600 more barangays, most of which are within the areas of operation of the 95 active CPP-NPA guerilla fronts.
Last week, the New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the CPP-NPA to “cease targeting civilians,” and to “cease all killing of current or former comrades.”
But on Sunday, some 30 NPA terrorists abducted at gunpoint Barangay Chairman Glorioto Mahumas in Barangay Kanidkid, Montevista, Compostela Valley province.
PNP-HRAO chief Senior Supt. Lina C. Sarmiento said the rebels were disguised as and were welcomed by the unsuspecting barangay leader to his house.
The insurgents, led by a certain Ka Jazzy of Front Committee No.3 of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee, used Mahumas as bait to lure members of the local Citizen’s Armed Forces Geographical Unit and its military supervisor.
At the nearby CAFGU and Army detachment, the NPA guerrillas also took hostage CAFGU volunteer Rudy Villaflor and Army Sergeant Raul Reyes.
Mahumas, Villaflor and Reyes were used as human shields as the rebels fled towards Barangay Banglasan in Montevista. The victims are still being held hostage by the NPA.
According to Pagdilao, the Compostela Valley Provincial Police Office is preparing criminal charges for abduction and serious illegal detention against the insurgents and its known leaders in the province.