Three police security escorts to the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were killed in an ambush by gunmen, suspected to be members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA), on Thursday morning in Lupi, Camarines Sur.
FDA Director General Nela Charade Galang-Puno and her team were “unharmed,” the Department of Health said in a statement.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque condemned the attack and demanded a full investigation into the incident.
He said the safety of Puno, wife of businessman and former Road Board executive director Rodolfo “Dody” Puno, was the department’s priority.
The FDA chief, who was on her way to Daet, Camarines Norte which had passed an ordinance requiring establishments to secure an FDA clearance prior to obtaining a business license, was moved to a safe location, Duque said.
The Bicol Provincial Police Office said Senior Police Officer (SPO) 1 Percival Rafael, Police Officer (PO) 3 Carlito Navarroza and PO1 Ralph Jason Vida died after about 20 unidentified armed men waylaid their group on the national highway in Barangay Napolidan.
Three other police officers were wounded. They were identified as PO1 Ruby Buena, PO1 Rodolfo Gonzaga and PO1 Jonathan Perillo. They were brought to Bicol Medical Center in Naga City to receive medical treatment.
The victims were aboard a Philippine National Police (PNP)-marked vehicle escorting Puno and her team.
The First Camarines Sur Provincial Public Safety Company responded and retaliated, prompting the suspects to retreat.
Chief Supt. Arnel Escobal, Bicol police regional director, in a text message to The Manila Times, also confirmed that Puno was safe and was brought to Naga City with her aides.
The incident could further heighten animosity between the government and the CPP.
The Duterte administration cancelled the resumption of peace talks with the communist rebels in June, citing the need to hold public consultations.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who had been angered by NPA attacks on soldiers and police even during peace talks, remains open to negotiating with the rebels, Malacañang said on Tuesday in reaction to a The Manila Times exclusive interview with CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison.
In the interview with The Times Chairman Emeritus Dante Ang, Sison accused members of the Cabinet security cluster of swaying Duterte into suspending the peace talks in favor of a “military solution.”
The military however said Sison was lying, and explained that peace negotiations were terminated because of rampant recruitment and extortion by the NPA, as well as the need to review previous and proposed agreements and hold consultations with the public.
WITH CATHERINE MODESTO