Despite Philippine government's initiative to hold a peace dialogue with communist rebels, the latter killed five police officers and wounded 2 others on Friday morning in Negros Oriental province's Guihulngan City, Central Philippines.
Among those killed was a high-rank police officer identified as Col. Arnel Arpon, head of the Guihulngan City police station. The incident happened when a local lawmaker was ambushed by the communist rebels known as New People's Army (NPA) and the nearby police officers responded to the attack.
According to Col. Elizer Losanes, commanding officer of the 303rd Army Brigade, heavy exchanges of gunfire between the NPA took place, which ultimately killed those five officers.
Early this week, the close in security personnel of the Office of the President was ambushed at Arakan municipality in North Cotabato in the Southern Philippines. The NPA attack wounded four officers of the Presidential Security Group. One NPA rebel and another para military officer were also killed in the gunfire.
Last Wednesday, two marine soldiers were also shot dead by suspected NPA rebels in Palawan. The same rebels also bombed a military truck a day before the attack.
The Philippine government has cancelled the 5th peace dialogue with the NPA rebels as a result of the breach of trust and series of attacks against Philippine soldiers and police officers.
President Rodrigo Duterte also announced recently that is no longer interested in talking to the communist rebels as they lack sincerity. The NPA is the oldest running insurgency in Southeast Asia founded in 1969.
