Two policemen were injured in a roadside ambush bombing Feb. 13 in Sitio Candida 2, Brgy. Bi-ao, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental.
P/Lt. Charles Richard Casalan, deputy police chief of Binalbagan, and P/Cpl. Tranquillero, also of the Binalbagan Police Station, sustained minor injuries and were brought to the Binalbagan Infirmary for treatment.
P/Lt. Col. Arnel Solis, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6, said that a team of Binalbagan policemen, led by Casalan, was on board a police patrol vehicle and was responding to a reported discovery of a dead person in Sitio Nursery, Brgy. Bi-ao, Binalbagan.
Upon reaching Sitio Candida 2 in the barangay, Solis said that an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in the roadside and injured the two police officers.
Maj. Gary Alan Resuma, PNP Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Canine Group chief of Region 6, said the two IEDs were detonated by the NPA rebels as the police patrol vehicle was passing by the area.
Resuma said his team also recovered two unexploded IEDs with electrical wirings and five containers filled with water at the scene of incident.
Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said that about 12 suspected NPA rebels were involved in the ambush and detonation of landmines.
After a five-minute firefight, Pasaporte said that the rebels fled towards sitios Apitong and Namulo, all in Brgy. Bi-ao, Binalbagan. — GB
