Reds capture four police personnel

By Ben Serrano,
Correspondent

BUTUAN City — The New People’s Army –– through its supposed  leader using the nom de guerre, Ka Otto –– confirmed in several radio interviews here, that they captured four police personnel of Surigao del Norte, yesterday.

In the radio interviews, Ka Otto confirmed that their armed communist guerrillas captured the four police personnel as they were coming out of the cockfighting arena during the village fiesta of Kagtina-e, Malimono town in Surigao del Norte on Sunday afternoon.

Ka Otto further claimed the four police personnel are currently being held by the NPA’s custodial force operating in Surigao del Norte. The captured police personnel, Ka Otto added, are being held as prisoner-of-war.

Four police officers and one non-uniformed staff of Malimono, Surigao del Norte were captured by suspected NPA guerrillas in Barangay Kagtina-e, Mali-mono, at about 2 pm on Sunday, Malimono Municipal Police Office said.

SPO4 Noli Magalona, officer of the day, identified the victims as SPO3 Santiago Lamanilao, PO3 Jerome Bagayas, PO2 Khalid Senaca and Non-Uniform Personnel (NUP) Rodrigo Angub.

According to Maga-lona, the three policemen and one NUP member were on active duty since their station was on red alert. However, the five police personnel reported went to Barangay Kagtina-e because they were invited to the fiesta celebrations in the barangay.

Magalona said their personnel were not wearing their uniforms when they were captured.

Police Regional Office13 acting regional information officer Senior Insp. Charity Galvez told Gold Star Daily that provincial director Chief Supt. Rolando Felix called for an emergency meeting with all top police officials in the region on Sunday evening.