More police in villages amid Negros ambush

Chief Supt. Edmundo Gonzales, Negros Island regional police chief, pins the Wounded Personnel Medal to SPO4 Jerome Delara, one of three policemen injured during the ambush by communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, last Friday.
Contributed photo

The Cebu City police said it is intensifying police visibility in the mountain barangays in the wake of last Friday morning’s ambush of a police chief and six police officers by communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

Senior Supt. Joel Doria, Cebu City police chief, said their office recently conducted a review of new personnel for their deployment as platoon leaders of their Public Safety Company.

“They are conducting patrols to clear our area (of responsibility),” Doria said.

Doria said even if Cebu City is far away from Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, where the ambush occurred, they’re not taking chances.

The Guihulngan police earlier said they have identified some “persons of interest” in relation to the murders.

The Negros Provincial Police Office earlier created a task force to investigate the ambush.

SPO2 Dax Bayutas of the Guihulngan police said they cannot disclose the names of these persons of interest yet since it would compromise their investigation.

“Person of interest” is a US law enforcement term coined at the onset of the “war on terrorism” to refer to persons with information on the case who may not have committed any wrongdoing or is not involved in the crime.

The ambush occurred at Barangay Magsaysay, Guihulngan City, located 15 kilometers away from the town proper.

The communist NPA rebels have yet to issue a statement on the incident.

The ambush was one of a series of attacks committed by the communist NPA rebels just as the government canceled peace talks with their political allied groups, the Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF).