Cop slain, 9 others hurt in Sagada NPA encounter

TUGUEGARAO, Cagayan – A police officer died while nine others were wounded in an encounter with New People’s Army (NPA) rebels on Mt. Sipitan in Barangay Aguid, Sagada, Mountain Province yesterday.

A report received by Superintendent Rolando Nana, Cordillera police director, identified the fatality as Police Officer 2 Henry Dion.

Wounded were Senior Superintendent Joseph Cayat, Regional Mobile Force Battalion commanding officer; PO3 Wilfred Manacnis, PO1s Aldrin Bocalan, Clarence Abuan, Antolin Potpoten, Xander Depnag, Jake Paat and Yasser Guzman and PO2 Regie Palome.

Nana said Cayat and his men were conducting security operations when they were attacked by an undetermined number of rebels at around 10 a.m.

Nana deplored the attack, noting that the area was declared a peace zone in Mountain Province.

Pursuit operations for the rebels are ongoing.

Soldier killed

In Quezon, a soldier was killed and two others were wounded in an ambush staged also by suspected communist insurgents in Lopez town on Monday night.

Pfc. Nilo Rivera Julian was pronounced dead on arrival at the St. Jude General Hospital.

Sgts. Victor Bartocillo and Jonathan Baylar were wounded and brought to the same hospital for treatment.

The victims were with a six-man Army team dispatched to pick up their colleagues who conducted a development project at the boundary of Barangays Cogorin Ibaba and Silang when they were waylaid at around 8 p.m.

The firefight lasted for more than an hour.

Government troopers caught up with the rebels around two kilometers away from the site of the first encounter, triggering another round of skirmishes. There was no reported casualty on the government side.