NPA safehouse raided
Joint police and military operatives raided the alleged safehouse of a top communist rebel leader in Marikina City and seized guns and grenades, and what authorities described as subversive documents.
Police Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said the safehouse located in Barangay Barangka belongs to Renante Gamara who was arrested last week in Cavite.
Gamara was a consultant for the communist rebels during the failed peace negotiations with the government. He’s also an alleged Central Committee member of the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army). He used to be secretary of the Metro Manila Regional Party Committee of the CPP NPA.
“We are now looking for the caretaker of the house identified as Ryan Dizon. He was not around when the search warrant was implemented on Friday,” said Eleazar. (Aaron Recuenco)
30 stopped at airport
Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have stopped from leaving the country 30 undocumented overseas contract workers disguised as tourists bound for the Middle East.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) port operations chief Grifton Medina said the 12 men and 18 women were about to board an Emirates Airlines flight to Dubai Friday when they were intercepted by personnel from the bureau’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU).
“All of them initially claimed they were going to visit a friend or relative in Dubai for a vacation and presented as proof their tourist visas and return tickets,” Medina said.
“But inconsistencies in their statements prompted the immigration officers to doubt their purpose, so they were referred to the TCEU for secondary inspection.”
Grifton said the passengers later admitted that they were going to work abroad and that their travel documents were only given to them that day by their handler who met them outside the airport. (Jun Ramirez)
1 cop killed in clash
A police officer was killed while another was injured when cops encountered around 20 suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Bauko, Mountain Province Friday, the 50th anniversary of the communist group.
A police report from the Cordillera Police Regional Office (PRO-COR) identified the slain cop as Patrolman Wilfredo Padawil, a member of the 1502nd Mobile Company, Regional Mobile Force-15 in Cordillera region.Injured was Police Corporal Eirphil Lapniten.
On Saturday, Police General Oscar Albayalde, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, went to the Benguet General Hospital to visit Lapniten.
He is also set to visit the wake of Padawil in Sagada, Mt. Province.
Initial investigation disclosed that elements of the 1502nd Mobile Company, Regional Mobile Force-15 led by Police Captain Le Veonn Madalang and PCPT Graeme Boy Javier were conducting patrol operations in Sitio Malabagan, Barangay Bangnen, Bauko around 9:30 a.m. when they chanced upon the heavily-armed men. (Martin Sadongdong)
