NEWSFLASH

NPA BURNS GUMACA, QUEZON SMART PHONE CELL SITE

Lucena, Quezon, May 21, 2000 - New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas burned communications equipment of Smart Communications at its cellular site in Gumaca, Quezon during a noon assault last Friday, police said.

Quezon police director, Senior Superintendent Charlemagne Alejandrino, said the rebels timed their attack on the Smart cellsite in Barangay Villapadua at noon when only one security guard was manning the compound.

The guerrillas disarmed and tied up the lone guard, Romeo Jimenea before setting a communication van, two generators and the generator shelters on fire.

Shouting communist slogans, the rebels retreated towards the mountains, taking Jimenea as human shield. They later released the guard unharmed.

Police said the damage on the Smart cellsite could run into millions of pesos.

Elements of the Quezon police mobile group and the Army's 76th Infantry Battalion have launched pursuit operations against the rebel attackers.

Chief Superintendent Lucas Managuelod, Southern Tagalog police director, has ordered 24-hour police patrol in the area.

Last Wednesday, NPA guerrillas assaulted two police detachments in Barangay Tabugon, Calauag, Quezon, killing a police officer and a soldier and carting away assorted firearms.