Suspected rebels abduct then kill town police chief (8:12 p.m.)
DAVAO — Suspected communist guerrillas abducted a town police chief Tuesday then later shot him to death in a mountainous southern Philippine region where government forces have intensified counterinsurgency assaults, a police official said.
Inspector Jonel Belenson, who heads the Boston town police force in Davao Oriental province, was traveling with his police aide, Rowell Balmores, on a motorcycle in nearby Baganga township when they were stopped by about 20 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and dragged away at gunpoint, police Senior Superintendent Jimmy Manabat said.
Belenson apparently fought his captors while being led away and was shot to death. His body was found by police in a wooded area near where they were abducted in Baganga while his aide remained in rebel custody, Manabat said.
Army and police forces were hunting for the rebels, Manabat said.
NPA spokesman was not immediately available for comment. The rebels are difficult to contact because they often change their phone numbers, citing security reasons. They occasionally claim responsibility for attacks a few days after the event.
Government forces have intensified assaults against the NPA in Davao Oriental, an agricultural and mining province, after the rebels recently launched attacks.
Last month, a truckload of rebels disguised as army troops attacked Davao Oriental’s provincial jail in Mati township and seized about a dozen assault rifles and pistols from its armory.
They fled without hurting anybody or freeing any inmates, police said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the military to crush the rebels by 2010, when her term ends. The military says the number of rebels has dropped from 7,000 several years ago to just over 5,000 this year due to battle casualties and surrenders.
But the rebels, who have waged a rural-based insurrection for about 40 years, have become more active in recent months, attacking remote police and military outposts and convoys, and seizing weapons.
The United States and the European Union have blacklisted the NPA as a terrorist organization.(AP)
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