MANILA: Communist guerrillas yesterday freed an army officer whom they had held captive for two months in a jungle in the south, but said they had taken three policemen hostage during a bloody weekend attack.
New People's Army guerrillas handed Lt. Vicente Cammayo to International Committee of the Red Cross representatives in Agusan del Sur province, officials said.
The rebels seized Cammayo at gunpoint during an attack on troops Nov. 7 in the gold-mining mountain town of Monkayo in the southern Compostela Valley province, about 930 kilometers southeast of Manila. The attack, which sparked a massive manhunt and army offensives in the impoverished region, left two soldiers and a government militiaman dead.
Looking haggard, Cammayo was flown in on a helicopter, moved by wheelchair to an ambulance, and taken to a hospital in the military's Eastern Mindanao Command in nearby Davao City, regional military spokesman Maj. Randolph Cabangbang said.
"I'm thankful for this second life," Cammayo said shortly after he was freed.
Cabangbang said Cammayo appeared to be in good health but that he was very tired. He was being checked by doctors.
Cammayo's abduction "serves as a reminder that these communist terrorists will not spare anyone from the perils of their treacherous attacks," said military spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres.
A manhunt for his abductors will continue, Torres said.
There were no reports of rebel demands made — or met — for Cammayo's release.
The rebels, meanwhile, confirmed yesterday they had captured three policemen after ambushing a patrol car Saturday in Rodriguez town in Rizal province, about 40 kilometers east of Manila.
About 60 rebels hiding in foxholes detonated a land mine and opened fire on the car carrying six police officers, said Rizal police chief Ireneo Dordas.
One officer was killed on the spot and two others were wounded.
The attack was one of the closest to the Philippine capital in the 40-year Marxist rebellion.
In an e-mailed statement, the rebels said the remaining three officers led by Inspector Rex Cuntapay “immediately surrendered to the Red fighters and were taken as prisoners of war.”
The military said its offensives would continue with the aim of meeting President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's goal of ending the insurgency — one of Asia's longest — by 2010.
The communist rebellion began in the late 1960s and peaked in the mid-1980s. Since then, rebel ranks have thinned because of battle setbacks, surrenders and factionalism.
Peace talks brokered by Norway stalled in 2004 when the guerrillas accused the Philippine government of instigating their inclusion on the US list of terrorist organizations.
— With input from agencies
