Evardone cousin's police escort killed, 4 hurt in Samar ambush

A police escort of Arteche town mayor Rolando Evardone – Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone's cousin – was killed while four other people were hurt in an ambush staged by suspected New People’s Army rebels on Saturday. Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz, Philippine National Police spokesman, said in a text message that a group of NPA rebels attacked the mayor’s convoy at about 11:20 a.m. while it was at Sitio Subok in Barangay Tangbo, Arteche town. Authorities identified the lone fatality as Police Inspector Al Lianza Tantiado, the platoon leader, while the other police escorts injured in the attack were identified as PO1 Kenneth Tapalla, PO1 Sherwin Furtagada and PO1 Elmer Tesado. The 12 policemen escorting Mayor Evardone are members of the 3rd Platoon, 2nd Company of PNP Region 8's Regional Public Safety Management Battalion (RPSMB), according to a separate text message by Maj. Chris Campos, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Central Command. The rebels carted away three M16 rifles, one M14 rifle, one 9-mm pistol and three cal.-45 pistols belonging to the police escorts. A civilian motorist, Noe Opepario, was also hurt reportedly after being caught in the crossfire. The mayor and other civilian escorts were unharmed, the PNP spokesman said. Rep. Evardone condemned the "barbaric" attack in a text message to reporters, insisting that "[t]he mayor and the police were just doing their duty to stop illegal gambling." Members of the Army's 14th and 87th Infantry Battalion, as well as local PNP forces are conducting pursuit operations.—Mark D. Merueñas/JV, GMA News