Saturday, July 05, 2008 Rebels deny hand in grenade blast
THE New People's Army (NPA) denies having any hand in the grenade attack in the Municipality of Nabunturan that killed three people and wounded 10 others shortly after midnight on Thursday.
It, however, drummed up its "victory" in the raid of the Banaybanay municipal police office in Davao Oriental.
Initial investigation of the Police Regional Office 11 indicated that the ones behind the grenade lobbing could have been the same group that killed two enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines last Monday.
Both incidents happened in the same municipality.
The rebel group, through a statement, said the military was making a "baseless allegation against the New People's Army concerning the grenade throwing incident in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley."
The statement added that the "AFP is merely exposing its frustrations owing to its failures and defeats in the field."
The statement was signed by Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesperson of the Merardo Arce Command of the Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command of the NPA, and sent through e-mail to various media outlets.
In the same statement, the rebel group also expressed indignation over the incident that killed civilians and wounded 10 others.
The group also implied that the Armed Forces of the Philippines could be behind the grenade attack.
"They now wish to counter by attacking innocent people and pinning the blame on the NPA," the statement said.
The rebel group also rejected the claims of the military that one member of the NPA was killed and that the military was able to retrieve one M14 rifle.
"There is no tinge of truth to this. The enemy is just manufacturing stories to divert attention from the successive and successful tactical offensives by the NPA," the statement ended.
Slay suspects
In placing the blame for the grenade lobbing on the same group that killed two soldiers last Monday in Nabunturan, the PRO 11 said the men who lobbed the grenade was on board red and white motorcycles.
"The same ones used by the group who killed the two military personnel," the intelligence source said.
Sergeant Alcos and Private First Class Estadian were eating breakfast around 8:30 a.m. inside an eatery Monday when unidentified gunmen shot them several times.
The gunmen reportedly fled on board two motorcycles, one red and another white, after taking the victims' firearms, one M16 and one M14.
The military said it was able to retrieve the M16 rifle from a slain rebel.
Meanwhile, the NPA is beating its chest in victory for its raid of the Police Provincial Mobile Group municipal station in Banaybanay, Davao Oriental. It boasted that it was able to seize 18 firearms, including eight M16 Armalite rifles and more than 4,000 rounds of ammunition.
"Five PNP personnel surrendered while three others fled," the NPA said in a separate statement.
"The widespread and intensive tactical offensives are hitting Gloria Arroyo's armed forces almost at will, with successive strikes to its head and blows to its body. In spite of the Eastern Mindanao Command's troop build-up in the region, they remain out-witted and out-maneuvered by the people's guerrilla army," the statement said.
It further said it would continue to wage war against the military and police. (CPM)
