Philippines beefs up outposts security

[Ulhas Joglekar]

5 November 1999 : Philippines beefs up outposts security
MANILA: Officials have ordered the tightening of security at police and
military detachments nationwide, especially in remote areas, after a series
of Communist rebel attacks, police said Thursday.
In the most recent clash, rebels attacked a police station Wednesday night
in Del Gallego town in the eastern province of Camarines Sur but were
repulsed by police in a brief fire fight. Two villagers riding in a passing
van were accidentally shot and injured during the clash, said national
police deputy director Edmundo Larroza.
President Joseph Estrada, angered by the attacks, ordered the military to
pursue the rebels responsible and urged the public to help authorities put
an end to the 30-year Marxist insurgency.
Since Sunday, the rebels have staged at least one major attack a day. Jose
Maria Sison, the Netherlands-based founder of the Communist Party of the
Philippines, ignored Estrada's threat and said the rebels have faced a more
daunting adversary in the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. "If he wants a
fight, the revolutionary forces will give him his happiness," Sison said.
Estrada challenged Sison to return home and lead the guerrillas in resuming
peace talks with the government, but added he would not give in to any
demand that would violate the constitution. He added the government is ready
to provide travel papers to Sison, who is living in self-exile in the Dutch
city of Utrecht. Estrada said he was proceeding with a trip Friday to Quezon
province, where the Communist rebels are active and have staged two recent
attacks.
About 30 rebels stormed a police station in Dolores town in Quezon province
on Wednesday, abducting police chief Abelardo Martin and seizing 12 guns and
two-way radios. On Tuesday, about 40 guerrillas ransacked houses of
militiamen detailed at a police station in Aguit-it village in Camarines
Norte, police said. The rebels seized three militiamen, along with cash and
other valuables, police said.

For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 1999.