Eleazar orders men to be on alert vs NPA offensive
PHILIPPINE National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar yesterday ordered all his field units to be on alert for any New People’s Army offensive designed by the rebels to force candidates in the May 2022 national and local elections into paying them their “permit-to-campaign fees.”
The country’s top cop also ordered an intensified operation against the CPP-NPA-NDF following a bomb attack in Iloilo province that wounded two policemen.
“The NPA attack that resulted to the wounding of two of our policemen is certainly a strategy being employed to make it appear that they are still strong and eventually use as a leverage for their extortion activities to candidates for the next year’s election,” Eleazar said.
“Dahil dito, inatasan ko na ang lahat ng ating mga unit commanders na maging alerto at lalo pang paigtingin ang mga operasyon laban sa mga CPP-NPA-NDF upang hindi sila mabigyan ng pagkakataon na magkamal ng pera na patuloy nilang gagamitin sa recruitment at sa pagsasagawa ng karahasan,” he added.
Injured in the attack were Pat. Jessie Castamado and Cpl. Genel Simpas, both members of the Iloilo Police Mobile Force Company.
Castamado and Simpas were among the local policemen manning their patrol base in Bgy. Mayang when they were harassed by suspected members of the CPP-NPA’s Southern Front Komite, Komiteng Rehiyon.
Shortly after the harassment incident, the lawmen pursued the fleeing gunmen and engaged them in a gunbattle. While about to be cornered, the rebels detonated two improvised explosive devices, which injured the two policemen, who were taken to a local hospital for treatment. Both were listed in stable condition already.
Eleazar said they were still checking reports that an undetermined number of the guerrillas were wounded during the firefight.
