BACOLOD City – A policeman died while two others were seriously wounded in an ambush in Barangay Minapasuk, Calatrava, Negros Occidental yesterday morning.
Police identified the fatality as Police Corporal Jayme Nuñez while the wounded were Police Corporal Dennis Nasis and Police Captain Jesus Alba, deputy chief of the Calatrava Municipal Police Station.
According to barangay kagawad Jason Balansag, officers of the Calatrava police station responded to the village after receiving reports of a murder case in the area.
Balansag said they boarded their barangay vehicle and together with the police traveled to Sitio Upper Ikugan.
They were accompanied by a staff car from the town’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, while the police vehicle with nine cops aboard was the last one in the convoy.
Upon reaching the said sitio, Balansag said they heard gunfire from the back of the convoy, prompting them to stop.
The village officials and tanods immediately dismounted their vehicles and took cover.
The cops and alleged New People’s Army (NPA) rebels exchanged fire.
There was also a report that the cops’ vehicle may have rolled on to a landmine planted by the rebels. This has yet to be officially verified.
Balansag said they were forced to flee to a safer spot around 800 meters from the encounter site, and upon reaching their new hiding spot the sound of gunshots died down.
He immediately asked one of the residents if they could pass by the ambush site to determine if there were any more armed individuals in the area and when they heard the “all clear” they went back to help the wounded police officers.
According to Balansag, Nuñez succumbed to gunshot wounds to the neck and other parts of his body. Alba had a gunshot wound to the leg while Nasis sustained gunshot wounds to the shoulder and abdomen.
Alba and Nasis were rushed to the town hospital for treatment.
It was later confirmed that one of the wounded was transferred to a private hospital in Bacolod City.
As of press time, both the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office and the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade have yet to give a formal update on the situation in the area. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
