VIGA, Catanduanes—Two policemen in a responding mission of an ambushed two police patrol cars carrying drug surrenderers were killed in a more than an hour fierce gun battle with a heavily armed New People’s Army rebels in an isolated Sagrada Village here on Thursday. Four others were reportedly wounded.
A police report said the ambushed patrol cars in convoy with four escort policemen hit an improvised explosive device, however, with the patrol cars managed to escape the ambush site while returning fire to locate a signal to report the ambush. A driver-policeman and two drug surrenderers were wounded by shrapnel during the ambush.
Killed among the responding police team were Police Officer 1 Eva Torcelino and PO3 Joseph Tupue. The wounded are Viga police chief Senior Police Inspector Ernesto Montes Jr. and SPO1 Marwin de Vera. The two-wounded drug surrenderers remain not identified.
Montes who was hit by a bullet at the back was treated at the Viga Municipal Hospital and was pronounced by doctors out of danger.
The police report said the ambush occurred at 11:30 in the morning while the convoy patrols cars were on the way to the capital Virac town carrying 10 drug surrenderers. Viga to Virac is 50 kilometers in distance. It was around 1:30 p.m. when responding policemen led by Montes engaged the rebels in a fierce firefight with the rebels that lasted for more than an hour killing PO1 Torcelino and PO3 Tupue and the wounding of Montes.
The police report said that following the ambush, SPO1 De Vera who was immediately hit by a shrapnel while driving the lead patrol car ordered and managed to escape the ambush site as they return fire to get a signal some 15 kilometers more to negotiate an escalating zigzag road towards Barangay Summiit.
Viga mayor Emeterio Tarin, however, said Sunday there were 3 drug surrenderers who were wounded one of them was seriously wounded and was rushed to Legazpi City for treatment.
Immediately after receiving the report from the ambushed patrol cars, the responding police led by Montes engaged in a fierce fight at the ambush site with the rebels 1:30 pm who were positioned waiting for the responding policemen.
Montes said the outnumbered responding policemen fought it hard together with policewoman Eva Torcelino.
It was not mentioned in the report if there was casualty on the enemy side.
Mayor Tarin said it was the first time an encounter between police and NPA took place in a peaceful town 50 kilometers to the capital Virac.
Barangay Sagrada is about six kilometers to Viga Poblacion who is in preparation for the town fiesta celebration on Tuesday.
In a telephone interview, Mayor Tarin claimed 3 drug surrenderers were wounded one of them was rushed to Legazpi City because of a serious condition. He said the two others who were treated at the Viga municipal hospital were already release.
According to mayor Tarin, he was on his way to Viga town from Virac on private car with his driver when they passed by the ambush site at Barangay Sagrada where an estimated 20 heavily armed men wearing fatigue uniforms of high powered firearms stopped them around 1 pm. He said the armed men whom he thought were military personnel merely asked where we’re bound for that after hearing our destination we were release. He said he never thought there was an ambush that transpired in the area an hour before.
