ILOILO – A policeman and a barangay councilman were injured in an explosion in Barangay Pughanan, Lambunao town.
They were Police Master Sergeant Christopher Losbañez and barangay councilor Larry Ajeno, a police report showed.
The blast was believed to have been caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).
A team of nine policemen from Lambunao police station were onboard their patrol car around 9:45 a.m. on Friday when the explosion occurred, according to Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
The vehicle careened to the roadside slope.
Losbañez sustained a hand injury, while the other police officers had slight bruises not due to the explosion but because of trying to get out of the vehicle.
Ajeno, meanwhile, was passing by the area when hit by shrapnel.
The team was supposed to conduct a follow up investigation on an encounter between government forces and alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) which transpired on March 11, 2021, Malong said.
Authorities believed the NPA was behind the attack.
“Siguro nabatyagan na nila nga depleting naman ang ila nga forces that is why they have to be felt by the general public. It’s their tactics man, one way nga pwede nila i-control ang mga pumoluyo because of fear nga mag-upod sa ila. Na-interview man naton, ang iban naga-upod man lang sa ila tungod sa kahadlok,” said Malong.
She further noted that the areas targeted by the rebels such as Janiuay and Lambunao have many government projects.
“It is one way man siguro magpabatyag sa mga kontraktor para sa ila extortion activities,” Malong added.
To counter this, the regional spokesperson said they are strengthening their intelligence monitoring and security among police stations. She said the support given by the community is a very big help.
“Every movement namon kinanglan well-coordinated with the counterpart kag sa amon man dapat cleared ang places nga kadtuan namon para indi masulit ang mga incidents kon sa diin pwede mahalitan ang mga civilian,” Malong added.
On March 3, an alleged IED also exploded in the boundary of barangays Pangilihan and Canawili in Janiuay while the town police was conducting a road clearing operation for the scheduled inauguration of a government project in nearby Barangay Panuran.
No one was hurt in the incident.
The NPA, in a statement, owned up to the said attack.
Meanwhile, for Major Cenon Pancito III, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID), the recent NPA atrocities in Lambunao and Janiuay solidified their data that indeed the area is where the Central Front of the Kilusang Rehiyong Panay is operating.
“It is just right to deploy community support program teams to these areas in order to clear the communities from enemy affectation. Our soldiers will not be cowered to deliver shots should they insist to continue terrorizing the people,” he said./PN
