Report: NPAs briefly hold Kampi bets hostage in Agusan Norte

Communist rebels briefly held a town mayor allied with Malacañang and his group in Agusan del Norte province late Tuesday, government-run Philippines News Agency (PNA, www.pna.gov.ph) reported Wednesday night. The report said some 60 armed New People's Army (NPA) members surrounded the square where Mayor Reinario Rosales of Las Nieves town in Agusan del Norte province was campaigning at a public square in Mat-i village. Also held "hostage" was congressional candidate Angelo Jimenez. The report also cited a "flash report" received by the command center of the Army's 4th Infantry Division and Police Regional Office 13, where Army Maj. Gen. Jose Barbieto and Chief Supt. Antonio D. Nanas, regional director of Northeastern Mindanao PRO 13 claimed the insurgents encircled the square and ordered the politicians to "stop their rally." Barbieto and Nanas said local Kampi candidates led by Jimenez were in the middle of their rally when the heavily armed NPA rebels led by a certain “Commander Vil" of Front Committee 8 of the CPP-NPA Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee arrived at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday. "Commander Vil" supposedly ordered Rosales to stop their rally, while his men allegedly fired "warning shots" and forced the rallyists to stop their political activities. Rosales and Jimenez are allied with President Arroyo's Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi). At about 7:15 p.m., the NPAs released the Kampi candidates unharmed and fled to the nearby forested and mountainous area of Mat-i. Barbieto has ordered a "wide pursuit operation" against the fleeing rebels. It was not immediately clear if the rebels demanded payment from the candidates, but the PNA report said the police and military believed the incident was connected with "permit to campaign" fees imposed by the NPAs. Las Nieves is a third-class municipality in Agusan del Norte, with a population of 21,530 people in 3,811 households. - GMANews.TV