THE chief of police of Mandaon, Masbate survived an ambush
attempt by suspected New People’s Army members in a remote barangay on Monday
morning.
A report to Camp Crame said Chief Insp. Brian Castillo was on
his way to Masbate City on his Wrangler-type jeepney when some 15 heavily armed
men fired on him while passing through Barangay Managa-naga.
Castillo reportedly maneuvered his jeep in a successful
attempt to evade the bullets.
Meanwhile, three suspected hitmen of the NPA Special Partisan
Unit allegedly responsible for the recent killing of a Cauayan, Negros
Occidental policeman were arrested on Feb. 10 by Army soldiers in coordination
with policemen in Sitio Matognaw, Barangay Linaon in Cauayan.
Lt. Col. Romeo Basco, 61st Infantry Battalion commander,
identified the arrested suspects as Russel Langcoyan, 18; Felipe Domdom, 26; and
Domdom’s elder brother Robert, 39. They were arrested some 48 hours after the
killing of PO3 Danilo Malones of the Cauayan police in front of his wife in the
public market of Barangay Inayawan.
Basco and Cauayan police chief Insp. Louie Figueroa
acknowledged the help of the community in the apprehension of the three by
soldiers of the 61st IB led by 2Lt. Anthony Andrew Abay.
Basco said a .9mm pistol was recovered from one of the
suspects.
Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, provincial police director, said
Langcoyan was positively identified by Arnie Malones, wife of the slain
policeman, and several other witnesses as one of the two assassins, the other
one being Felipe Domdom, alias Aming, the alleged lookout and backup gunman.
Franco said it was Langcoyan who took Malones’ wallet and .45
caliber pistol with three magazines before fleeing.
Witnesses said the gunmen wielding .45 caliber and .9mm
pistols introduced themselves as members of the New People’s Army and said,
"Test mission ito. Huwag makialam ang hindi kasali."
Basco confirmed this, saying that the three suspects were
recent graduates of a course on Special Partisan Unit operations of the NPA. He
claimed the test mission was ordered by Reniel Cellon, alias Kumpol, secretary
of the Komiteng Larangan Southwestern Front.
Figueroa said the suspects have vehemently denied involvement
in the killing of Malones.
Police records said Malones was the third policeman killed by the NPA since
2007. – Raymond Africa and Gilbert Bayoran
