BUTUAN CITY — Suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels raided the house of Vice Mayor Emmanuel Suarez of Cortes town in Surigao del Sur on Tuesday morning, carting away firearms.
Senior Insp. Clark Abiya, Cortes police chief, said some 30 rebels arrived at Suarez’s house in Barangay (village) Mabahid around 6:45 a.m.
The rebels, believed to members of the NPA’s Guerilla Front 30, held the vice mayor and his granddaughter at gunpoint, Abiya said.
He said the rebels then took at least four firearms, including a shotgun, before fleeing toward the mountainous area of the village.
“Fortunately, Suarez and his granddaughter were not harmed. Only the firearms were seized,” Abiya said.
Abiya said Suarez told investigators the NPA had talked to him about the ban on fishing and rampant illegal logging in Cortes.