Reds attack Northern Samar police station; 2 cops hurt

TACLOBAN CITY, Aug. 10  -- At least two junior police officers were wounded when about 100 members of the New People’s Army (NPA) overran the police station of Lapinig, Northern Samar pre-dawn on Friday.

The rebels, carrying high-powered firearms, attacked the local police station at 1:44 a.m. on Friday, ensuing a 20-minute gun battle, according to initial reports reaching the Philippine National Police regional office in Palo, Leyte.

The two policemen wounded during the raid are Police Officer (PO) 2 Jerry Quilecol and PO1 Edizon Aguere.

The NPA fighters, who were on board two trucks and several motorcycles, were armed with Uzi, M14, M16, M203 and K3 sub-machine gun when they launched the attack.

Insp. Noli Montebon, Lapinig town police chief and PO2 Mark Mejedo were initially reported missing but were found 6 a.m. after hours of hiding when they ran out of bullets. The town has 20 active policemen with only six of them on duty during the raid.

The rebels carted away assorted firearms, a personal computer, and a flash drive owned by the chief of police.

Lapinig, a 5th class town with a population of 13,020, is located 235 kilometers northeast of Tacloban City, the regional capital. The town is Northern Samar's boundary town with Eastern Samar on its coastal side in the Pacific. (SQM/PNA)