KIDAPAWAN CITY -- A militiaman in M'lang, North Cotabato was killed while two of his comrades were seriously injured when some communist rebels raided their detachment around 4:30 p.m. Friday.
M'lang Mayor Joselito Piñol identified the slain government militiaman as Rex Alvarez, a member of Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu).
The victim succumbed to gunshot wounds in different parts of his body.
He was the guard on duty when about 60 fully-armed New Peoples' Army (NPA) rebels, clad in civilian clothes, raided their outpost at Barangay Luz Village in M’lang town.
The two other injured Cafgu members were identified as Wilfredo Mendoza and Ronaldo Castillon who were rushed to different hospitals in Kidapawan City and M'lang town.
Two other civilians who were hit by stray bullets while having a drinking session in nearby videoke house were identified as Tiburcio Pastera and Leonardo Mara-Mara, both farmers and residents of Barangay Luz Village.
The exchange of fires lasted for about 10 minutes and after which, the rebels carted two M16 rifles, one M14, one carbine, 14 Garand rifles, and several rounds of ammunition that they snatched from the Cafgu members and soldiers assigned in the area.
Piñol said the rebels commandeered two Isuzu elf -- one owned by a certain Mariel Miguel of M'lang and the other a rented truck from Kidapawan City.
The attack was a surprise to the Cafgu and soldiers in the village, according to Piñol.
"The Cafgus were not expecting the passengers onboard the Isuzu trucks were actually NPA members that would attack them. The attackers wore civilian clothes. The Cafgu men were thinking the passengers were on their way to attend a politically rally somewhere in Barangay Luz Village," Piñol said.
The rebels are said to be members of the NPA Front 72 of the Far South Mindanao Region.
The raid in M'lang town was the second attack staged by the rebels in North Cotabato this week.
On Wednesday, the rebels under the NPA Front 53 torched two government vehicles owned by the local government of Magpet in Barangay Basak.
The rebels held for three hours Magpet Vice Mayor Florentino Villasor, six town councilors, a civilian escort, and a village official in a secluded area in Sitio Boay-Boay in Barangay Basak.
A certain Commander Ponyong of NPA Front 53 was demanding from Villasor permit-to-campaign (PTC) fee. (MCM)