Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Insurgents Kill Soldier, Civilian In Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 01 Feb) Communist rebels killed a government soldier and a civilian suspected of aiding the military in the anti-insurgency campaign in the southern Philippines, officials said Wednesday.

Officials said three New People's Army members gunned down Army Sgt. Ernie Garialdo while he was buying at a store in the village of Old Bulabukan in Makilala town in North Cotabato province Tuesday afternoon.

The gunmen fled after shooting the soldier, assigned with the 39th Infantry Battalion. Witnesses told military investigators the assailants took the soldier's cellular phone and other personal belonging, said Maj. Gamal Hayudini, chief information officer of the Southern Command.

Five rebels also killed a 61-year old man Datu Cesar Asapon in a daring broad daylight attack Tuesday in Samay village in Misamis Oriental's Balingasag town, he said.

"The rebels shot Asapon in the head and then fled after the attack. This shows the true color of the NPA and that even innocent civilians are not spared. We condemn the NPA and the killing of two innocent victims," Hayudini told the Zamboanga Journal.

Last week, NPA rebels also abducted four people in separate attacks in Paquibato district in Davao City. Officials said the rebels seized Rodolfo Adang, a government militia, and three civilians Tony Lague, Inggo Asilo, and Berino Mambuo, on suspicion they were military spies.

The military tagged NPA leader Parago Sandoval as behind the abduction.

The NPA, armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF), is fighting the past three decades to topple the government and install a Maoist state in the country.

Peace negotiations between Manila and rebels collapsed following the pullout of the National Democratic Front (NDF) from the talks due to its inclusion in the terror lists of the United States and the European Union.
Rebel leaders demanded that President Gloria Arroyo asks the United States and the European Union to strike them off from the terror lists before they resume peace talks.

The rebels have vowed to step up attacks on government targets after Manila last year suspended safety and immunity guarantee for its negotiators following the collapse of the peace talks.

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