PNPand Cops in Magpet blast now safe

MAGPET (Sept. 16/NDBC) -- The three police officers wounded in a roadside bomb set off by communist rebels in a remote village here are now safe, a police officer said Tuesday afternoon. Police Senior Inspector Realan Mamon, Magpet police chief, saidPO2 Jop Limangan, PO2 John Bilango and PO2 Rudy Ticangen, all members of the PNP's Special Action Force (SAF), are now being treated in an undisclosed hospital in Kidapawan City. Mamon said, a SAF team,headed by Police Inspector Efren Cogasi, was conducting clearing operations an hour after the clash between the government forces and alleged members of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA) in Barangay Bagumbayan when theImprovised Explosive Device (IED) set-up by the guerrillas exploded. Captain Manuel Gatuz, spokesperson of the 57thInfantry Battalion, said soldiers were patrolling in the area when they sighted an undetermined number of rebels. A firefight ensued. As of posting,Gatuz said government forces are still pursuing the rebels who fled to the hinterlands of Magpet. (NDBC)