Five soldiers held hostage by communist rebels in Davao

Manila: Members of communist rebels held hostage five soldiers whowere preparing for a feeding programme for elementary students in the southern Philippines on Monday, resulting in intensified pursuit operation on Tuesday, an incident that could damage the gains of 21-year old peace talks between the Philippine government and the 44-year old Communist Party of the Philippines, a local paper said.

Corporal Emmanuel Quezon, Private First Class Donato Estandia, Ronald Gura, and Bernie Padilla; Private Marteniano Pasiagas were in civilian clothes aboard their motorcycle taxis when flagged down by members of the New People’s Army (NPA), who were in military uniforms, as they staged a roadblock on Paguibato District, Davao City on Monday afternoon, Lt Col Inocencio Pasaporte commander of the 60th Infantry Battalion told the Mindanao Examiner.

The two drivers of the soldiers were also arrested, but were eventually released. Army Lieutenant Neven Canitan managed to escape, said Pasaporte, but did not give more details.

The soldiers were part of the military’s peace project with the help of Kiwanis International, said Pasaporte, adding the soldiers were tasked to buy food supplies for the feeding project in the Paquibato district.

The incident happened in a so-called red-zone of the NPA, the 4,000 strong armed wing of the CPP.

On June 4, three soldiers were killed by a landmine in a jungle where the NPA has a training camp.

Last May, eight police commandos died when ambushed by the NPA on northern Luzon.

The Philippine government and the communist National Democratic Front (NDF) have been holding on and off peace talks that began in 1992.

In 2004, the NDF refused to return to the negotiating table after the Philippine government allowed the United States and the European Union to include the CPP-NPA in the list of foreign terror groups.

Formal talks were resumed at the start of President Benigno Aquino’s term in June 2010. But negotiations were stalled anew when the Philippine government refused the NDF’s demand for the release of political prisoners who were claimed as peace consultants.

The NDF, at the same time, refused the Philippine government’s request for the forging of a ceasefire agreement first before talks are continued. Last April, government negotiators said that peace talks had collapsed.