In the wake of the strained peace talks between government forces and rebel groups, it seems like members of the New People’s Army (NPA) are not slowing down. On Wednesday, March 8, four police officers lost their lives in an ambush that occurred in Barangay Sibayan, Bansalan, on Davao del Sur.
According to ABS-CBN News, the police officers responded to a report from a barangay official who said that a murder happened in the area.
The police officers were then attacked by suspected members of the NPA en route to the supposed crime scene. The officers-on-duty were PO1 Rolly Benelayo, PO1 Joe Narvaza, PO1 Saro Mangutara, and PO3 Jayden May Rabor.
Benelayo, Narvaza, and Mangutara were all part of the Bansalan Municipal Police Station, while Rabor was a member of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) in Digos City.
A SOCO team member was able to call the Davao del Sur Provincial Police for reinforcements during the ambush.
Another police officer, PO3 Allen Arnado, was wounded in the attack and was immediately brought to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategy of a "protracted people's war.” By the end of 2015, it was reported by the Philippine Army that the NPA's members have reached a total number of 3,200 fighters.
The NPA is considered a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department and as a terrorist group by the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.
The Philippines, however, has delisted the NPA as a terrorist organization in 2011. They have also resumed preliminary peace talks pending formal negotiations with the NPA's parent political organization, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
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