Surigao del Sur gov asks NPA to stop attacks after ambush kills 3

Surigao del Sur Governor Alexander Pimentel on Wednesday appealed to the New People's Army (NPA) to stop its attacks after three civilians were killed in an ambush allegedly perpetrated by the rebel group.

During the day's Laging Handa briefing, Pimentel said the three were killed when NPA rebels ambushed Army soldiers who were helping with the forced evacuation of Barangay Esperanza in the municipality of Carmen ahead of Typhoon Odette's landfall.

"May tatlong patay na sibilyan at 'yung Sangguniang Kabataan representative, tinamaan. So ang hiling ko sa mga kapwa Pilipino natin na NPA, huwag na tayo magpatayan kasi 'yung Army tumutulong lang sa evacuation. Bakit in-ambush niyo?" he said.

(Three civilians were killed while an SK representative was injured. I am asking the NPA to stop the attacks because the Army soldiers were just trying to help with the evacuation. Why did you ambush them?)

Pimentel urged ranking NPA officials to temporarily stop the fighting and cooperate with the government even only during this month. He also asked them to allow soldiers and the police to help in operations related to the typhoon, especially in evacuation centers.

"Tigilan na natin ito at saka kung puwede ngayon, ceasefire muna tayo. December na. Nagi-evacuate ngayon ang mga tao. Kung puwede lang. 'Yun lang ang hiling ko para wala na tayo casualty sana. Imbes na naghanda tayo sa bagyo, ambush ang natanggap namin," he said.

(Let's stop the violence and even only now. Let's have a ceasefire. It's December. People are evacuating. That’s all I'm asking for so that we won't have any more casualties. Instead of preparing for the storm, we received an ambush.)

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the department condemns the NPA for conducting an attack in times of crisis.

"Wala naman po itong magandang naidudulot sa ating bansa. Bagkus sa panahon ng pandemya at panahon ng bagyo kung saan tayo ay kailangan magtulungan, itong mga komunistang teroristang grupo ay naghahasik pa ng lagim," he said.

(This does not bring any good to our country. In a time of pandemic and a storm where we need to work together, these communist terrorist groups are still sowing terror.)

Pimentel, meanwhile, said the province has been evacuating residents since Tuesday, with almost 2,000 people coming from Tandag City.

PAGASA on Wednesday morning raised the Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 in Surigao del Sur and the eastern portion of Surigao del Norte (Claver, Siargao and Bucas Grande Islands) due to Typhoon Odette. Strong winds and heavy rainfalls are expected in these areas.

The governor said that barangay officials are manning the evacuation centers to see to it that the minimum public health standards are observed.

Local fishermen have also removed their boats from the shoreline and placed them on dry land.

They may however ask for the assistance of the national government as their resources were depleted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pimentel said he would observe until Thursday if their current stock of relief goods would still be enough.

“Kung saka-sakaling dumating talaga ang bagyo, bukas natin malalaman kung ano talaga ang extent ng damage. Tsaka siguro ako magsasabi kung ano ang kailangan namin. As of now medyo makaya-kaya pa namin,” he added.

(If the storm really comes, we'll know the extend of the damage the following day. By then I would be able to say what we need. As of now we can still cope.) --KBK, GMA News