ZAMBOANGA CITY, 22 December 2005 — Communist rebels attacked a group of military band members, wounding at least eleven people, on a remote village in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the rebels detonated a land mine and then opened fire on the truck hired by soldiers to bring them to the village of Bangunay in the town of Jabonga, Agusan del Norte province, on Tuesday.
“At least eight soldiers, who are band members, and three civilians, were injured in the attack,” said Lt. Col. Francisco Simbajon, a spokesman for the army’s 4th Infantry Division.
He said the soldiers, all members of the 30th Infantry Battalion, were to perform in the village as part of a Christmas civic program.
The band members were armed only with drums and trumpets and guitars. And the civilians were only drivers and helpers, he said. Simbajon said the truck driver managed to escape from the ambush scene. Villagers rescued the soldiers and protected them from the rebels.
Rebels earlier killed four soldiers in a daring broad daylight attack at a market in Tagum City. One of the dead was army Capt. Marcelo Quitiquit, officials said.
The four were about to board their van when the gunmen attacked in front of horrified civilians, said Maj. Gamal Hayudini, a Southern Command spokesman.
Rebel spokesman Gregorio Rosal earlier said that his group is ready to resume peace talks with Manila and declare a truce.
Rosal said they submitted a proposal to the government for the resumption of the talks and is awaiting the reply from President Gloria Arroyo.
Peace talks have been suspended since August last year following the pullout of the rebels from the talks due to its continued inclusion in the terror lists of the United States and the European Union on Manila’s prodding.
It was not known how the latest attack would affect the government decision to declare a unilateral truce before Christmas.
The military said it recommended a two-day cease-fire with the NPA, but the Southern Command is opposing any truce, saying, the rebels never ceased to attack government targets.
On Friday, New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas detonated a land mine in North Cotabato province, killing 11 soldiers, who were on a medical mission.
But Rosal defended the offensives, saying, the military never stops killing militant leaders and human rights activists throughout the country.
“Violations of human rights by the fascist military and its paramilitary forces continue unabated. This year saw record violations of human rights in the wake of the Marcos dictatorship,” Rosal said.
The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, had been fighting for over three decades to topple the government and install a Maoist state in the country.
The rebels have vowed to step up attacks on government targets after Manila suspended safety and immunity guarantee for its negotiators following the collapse of the peace talks.
The NPA previously said that it would only return to the peace negotiations if President Arroyo asks the United States and the European Union to strike them off from their terror lists.
