Suspected rebels seize 2 cops

MANILA -- Two police personnel were abducted in Surigao del Norte on Monday afternoon by armed men believed to be members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA), a military official said Tuesday.

Major Ezra Balagtey, spokesperson of Eastern Mindanao Command, said the two policemen were forcibly taken by around 20 armed men on board two white vans without license plate around 1:35 p.m. on Monday, November 13.

The names of the policemen, both members of the Placer Municipal Police Station, have been

withheld. They were on duty at the police outpost in Bad-as Public Market when the abduction took place.

Balagtey said government forces were conducting search and rescue operation. Police have yet to identify the NPA responsible for the abduction.

“This incident runs counter to the spirit of peace talks that everyone is pushing (for),” said Balagtey.

The peace talks between the government and the communist rebels are in limbo. President Rodrigo Duterte said in July that there will be no more negotiations following the intensified attacks by rebels in response to the martial law proclaimed in Mindanao.