Suspected rebels disguised as cops kill army commander

Suspected New People’s Army rebels, wearing police uniforms, abducted an Army detachment commander in Negros Occidental and shot him in front of his daughter on Saturday. The suspected rebels also fled with 23 high-powered firearms belonging to the detachment in Bug-ang village in Toboso town, the news site Visayan Daily Star reported on Monday. Col. Jonas Sumagaysay, commander of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, identified the slain Army commander as S/Sgt. Efraim Bagonoc, commander of the Bug-ang detachment. Sumagaysay claimed that the rebels reportedly used Bagonoc as a human shield and shot him in front of his men, and his 14-year-old daughter, Efrailyn, who happened to be at the detachment. “This is clearly a violation of treatment of prisoner of war as the NPA claims when they kidnap soldiers," he said. Rebels wore PNP uniforms Sumagaysay said eight of the rebels reportedly wore uniforms of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, while some 20 others wore fatigue uniforms and rode on a dump truck. Citing reports Sumagaysay said the unarmed Bagonoc was reportedly on his way to Sitio Polopangyan in Tabun-ac village. Bagonoc was allegedly abducted at about 4:00 p.m. on Saturday by eight rebels who were wearing police and CIDG uniforms and riding a red van. As they headed to the detachment, Bagonoc and the suspects were joined by another group of armed rebels on board a dump truck. Using Bagonoc as a human shield, the suspected NPAs gained entry into the detachment. When they shot Bagonoc, Villanueva and Solitario tried to fight, Sumagaysay claimed. Only 10 militiamen at the camp Sumagaysay added that there were only 10 militiamen at the camp when the rebels raided it. The rebels reportedly burned six of the 13 bunkers in the Army detachment before reinforcements could arrive, Sumagaysay said. Sumagaysay said Bagonoc and his men have just arrived from a combat operation when the rebels raided their detachment. Those wounded in the incident were Civilian Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) members Jimar Villanueva and Ariel Solitario. They are are being treated for gunshot wounds at the Alfredo Marañon Sr. District Hospital in Sagay City. The members of the Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion and Scout Rangers are now pursuing the rebels. Sumagaysay said the incident was an “act of treachery and deceit," citing the use of police and military uniforms. The suspected NPAs took two M-16 Armalite rifles, 12 M-14 assault rifles and nine M-1 Garand rifles. Maj. Gen. Vicente Porto, 3rd Infantry Division commander, visited the burned detachment with Sumagaysay. Porto said they are checking if there were security lapses in the incident. Porto ordered Army field and CAFGU detachment commanders to be more vigilant and wary of tactics such as wearing of uniforms of “friendly troops." Meanwhile, outgoing provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Manuel Felix ordered police chiefs in northern Negros to establish checkpoints in possible exit routes. –VVP, GMANews.TV