41st IB punished anew for abduction of children, 7 Soldiers killed in June 25 ambush in Abra

Diego Wadagan (diegowadagan@gmail.com)
Spokesperson
Agustin Begnalen Command
June 28, 2007

While the second batch of operating troops of the 41st IB were withdrawing on June 25, 2007, NPA guerillas staged an ambush along the road between Barangay Wangayan, Tubo and Luba, Abra. The firefight started at 8:00 am and lasted until 2:30 pm. Six fascist troopers were immediately killed, while a wounded soldier eventually died, bringing to seven the dead casualties of the 41st IB. The NPA suffered no casualty.

The ambush was a punitive action against the many abuses of the operating troops, the most recent of which is the abduction of six innocent high school students along the Bangaan-Buasao-Kili foot trail. The names of the six students are as follows:

Josie Padingil
Josefa Banglay
Jane Dumalig
Isabel Lawagan
Igan Lumebyang
Sumili Maguinsay

The six students were all released as of June 25, 2007. The female students were released earlier, while Igan Lumebyang and Sumili Maguinsay were only released after the whole people of Kili together with the support of neighboring villages exerted pressure on the military to release them. Lumebyang and Maguinsay were brought along with the operating troops garbed in camouflage uniforms. After learning of the ambush, the people of Tubo reportedly said, "Masem yu, aped yu tiliwen nan an-ak mi ay maid basbasol da. Pinaligat yu, binutbuteng yu sa yu pay insarang as peggad daida." (That's what you get for abducting innocent children! You tormented, terrorized and exposed them to danger.)

Col. Loreto G. Rirao, 503rd Brigade Commanding Officer, tried to cover up the abduction by stupidly claiming that the students got lost in the way and so the soldiers accompanied them. How can the students get lost when they have been hiking that trail every time they go to school?

Since June 5, 2007, massive military deployment began in the contiguous municipalities of Bontoc, Sagada, and Besao in Mountain Province; in the towns of Luba, Tubo and Boliney in Abra; and in Cervantes and Quirino in the province of Ilocos Sur. The contingent AFP-PNP troops included the 41st IB, 50th IB, 53rd Recon Coy, 21st IB, and the PNP RMG-CAR. Earlier on June 17, 2007 an encounter transpired at Sitio Pananuman, Tubtuba, Tubo with NPA guerillas and a unit of the 50th IB. A soldier was killed while the NPA suffered no casualties.

The latest tactical offensives are proof of the NPA's heightened fighting will and capability against the intensifying militarization of the Cordillera, under the US-Macapagal-Arroyo Regime's Oplan Bantay Laya. On the other hand, the AFP-PNP are resorting to blatant human rights violations and black propaganda, as they are spreading lies about the CPP-NPA's alleged plot to assassinate local government officials in the province; a clear scapegoat for the inutile efforts of the COMELEC, the PNP and the AFP to quell warlordism and stop pre and post election-related violence in the province.

Also, in an attempt to gain propaganda mileage, the PDEA finally arrested Mailed Molina after two decades of turning a blind eye to his blatant illegal drug trade and other criminal activities. This proves what the NPA has long been saying about the CPLA. Obviously, the CPLA Supremo's usefulness in counter-insurgency expired.

Back to top