Suspected communist rebels killed a policeman and wounded three others when they ambushed the convoy of a police general in Talakag town of Bukidnon on Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Joselito Salido, however, survived the ambush as the cops stood their ground and engaged the attackers in a gunfight.
Salido, the deputy director of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations (DIPO), was on his way back to the headquarters of the Northern Mindanao regional police when the attack occurred at around 7 a.m. near the boundary of Barangay Tikalaan and Dominorog.
Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac, spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the attack resulted in the death of a policeman and three other cops.
“General Salido and party are now safe,” said Banac.
Banac said additional policemen and soldiers were deployed in the area to hunt down the attackers.
The attack occurred after the government expressed willingness to resume the peace negotiations with the communist rebels.
It was recalled that the peace talks was cancelled due to the series of attacks launched by the rebels during the first two years of the Duterte administration. (Aaron Recuenco)