ZAMBOANGA CITY, 2 October 2004 — At least four police officers, two soldiers and a civilian were killed in series of communist guerrilla attacks across the Philippine archipelago, officials said yesterday.

The police casualties were patrolling in the southeastern province of Davao Oriental when they were ambushed by New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas yesterday, police officials from the Davao region reported.

Rebels seized the victims’ firearms and fled using the police jeep after the attack, which happened in the village of Saoqueque in Baganga, a coastal town overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

In the town of Baggao in Cagayan province, northeast of Manila, two soldiers were killed in a clash with NPA rebels on Thursday, a military said.

A day earlier, a civilian was killed and three soldiers were injured when rebels ambushed a military convoy in the western island of Palawan.

Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the vehicles were returning to base after transporting soldiers and supplies to the detachment guarding the Malampaya Dam in Taytay town when they were attacked.

Another military spokesman, Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla, Marines backed by two air force helicopters, were sent to hunt the rebels, who fled to nearby jungles in the northern part of Palawan. Navy gunboats also set up a blockade around Taytay town.

“Malampaya is safe and secure,” Padilla said. “Our security forces are on a high-state of alert and a pursuit operation is under way to punish the rebels.”

The military said the rebel attack was a rare occurrence. Padilla said not a single incident had been reported since November 2001 when a military task force was formed to secure the energy project.

The project is operated by a consortium led by a unit of the Royal/Dutch Shell group. Shell Philippines Exploration BV and Chevron Texaco have 45 percent stakes, with the other 10 percent held by the state-run PNOC Exploration Corp.

Troops also clashed last week with NThe military said a civilian who hitched a ride with one of the army trucks was killed instantly.

Meanwhile, the military claimed that five members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the NPA have surrendered to the government separately in the southern Philippines.

Among those who surrendered was Nurrudin Muddalam, said to be an MILF commander in Basilan island, 20 kilometers south of Zamboanga City.

Muddalam and three of his followers surrendered on Thursday to army officials, handing over assorted weapons, the military said. But the MILF, which is negotiating peace with Manila, yesterday disowned the four gunmen, saying its fighters in Basilan are all accounted for.

The military further claimed that an NPA rebel voluntarily surrendered on Thursday to army officials in Butuan City.

The Muslim separatist group and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) are both negotiating peace with the government.

But unlike the MILF, which has signed a truce with Manila, the communist rebels refuse to support a cease-fire agreement, demanding that the government asks the United States and the European Union to remove the movement from their list of terrorist groups. (Additional input from agencies)