By Tara Yap
Nine Maasin, Iloilo police officers were disarmed and handcuffed after communist rebels belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA) conducted a surprise attack on Sunday.
Mayor Mar Malones, Sr. said around 40 rebels wearing masks stormed the Philippine National Police (PNP) station in Maasin around 10:30 a.m.
Police Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, director of Police Regional Office-6 (PRO-6), disclosed no one was hurt but communist insurgents carted away eight M16 rifles, four glock pistols, five handheld radio units, two laptop computers, and P29,000 in cash.
The rebels also seized Maasin PNP’s patrol car, but it was later recovered in neighboring Alimodian town.
Social media posts from locals showed photos of NPA rebels carrying seized firearms while roaming Maasin’s town center.
Some NPA rebels also handed out leaflets to local residents before fleeing the town and assured them only the police station was targeted.
The attack came a day after 525 soldiers of the Philippine Army’s 82nd Infantry Battalion (82 IB), based in Iloilo province, were deployed to Marawi City to augment government forces against the Maute terrorist group.
Late last month, Maasin was one of the police stations sternly warned by the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) of a possible NPA attack.

NPA admission
In a statement posted on Facebook, the NPA in Panay Island lauded the attack by the NPA’s Napoleon Tumagtang Command.
According to the statement from NPA’s Coronacion ‘Waling-Waling’ Chiva Command, the attack against Maasin PNP was done because police in the area were allegedly extorting from small vendors.
The NPA also claimed Maasin PNP was lax in the campaign against illegal drugs and illegal gambling.
Meanwhile, Binag sacked all Maasin PNP cops and temporarily replaced the police station with members of PRO-6’s Regional Public Safety Company./WDJ