Four policemen on board a marked vehicle were killed in an ambush by heavily-armed men yesterday morning in Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
Another policeman escaped the hail of bullets by jumping off the light commercial vehicle, according to Sr. Supt. Samuel Gadingan, police provincial director.
The survivor, PO3 Allen Arnado of SOCO, ended up in a deep canal following the jump and managed to stay out of sight.
He even managed to call his superiors while the firefight was going on, according to the police official.
The names of the fatalities were not disclosed by Gadingan pending the notification of their kin.
But the fatalities have been named by various sources as PO1 Rolly Benelayo, PO1 Joe Narvaza, and PO1 Saro Mangutara, all members of the Bansalan municipal police station.
The other fatality was PO3 Jayden May Rabor, a member of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) based in Digos, Davao del Sur.
Three of the bodies lay side by side outside the passenger’s door when reinforcement came. The other body was found on the rear of the vehicle.
Gadingan said the ambush took place at 7:30 a.m. in Barangay Sibayan where the New People’s Army (NPA) is known to operate.
“Definitely NPA,” said Gadingan when asked who the perpetrators were.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack which comes less than three weeks before the NPA’s 48th anniversary.
The slain policemen were on their way to Barangay Sibayan to investigate the murder of a man inside his home. Three police intelligence operatives aboard a separate vehicle arrived in the crime scene at 6:30 a.m.
The Bansalan policemen picked up the two SOCO personnel in Digos, about 23 kilometers away, according to Gadingan.
Before reaching the crime scene, the police vehicle was fired upon from nearly all directions.
“Mountainous ‘yung lugar. Sabi nung nakaligtas, kung saan saan nanggagaling ang mga putok,” Gadingan said.
Recovered from the ambush site were hundreds of spent shells from assorted weapons.
Except for the lone survivor who had a short arm, all the victims were armed with M16 rifles.
“Kinuha lahat ng rebelde ang mga armas. Pati sapatos, cell phones at camera ng SOCO,” he said.
Gadingan said there were indications that the assailants finished off their victims by shooting them at close range.
He said there’s a possibility that the murder of a man inside his home is connected with the ambush. He said the murder victim was a police asset.
To avoid a repeat of the incident, the police official advised the town’s chief of police, Police Chief Inspector Adrian Antonio, to send investigators in civilian clothes.
“Puwede, naka motor lang. Anyway, patay na ’yung biktima. Imbestigasyon na lamang ang kailangan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Arnado, the lone survivor, has checked out of the Mabama Doctors Hospital where he was treated for cuts and bruises.
Gadingan said Arnado went to Digos to purchase anti-tetanus medicines. “Wala daw ganun sa bayan,” he said. (With report from Josephine dela Serna Gokotano)