Suspected rebels set bus afire in northern Luzon

Suspected members of the communist New People's Army (NPA) set fire to a commuter bus in northern Luzon Tuesday evening, a belated police report said.

Three passengers, two men and a woman, forced the driver of the Victory Liner to proceed under a bridge in Angat village, Sison, Pangasinan.

The rebels burned the bus there, said police chief Inspector Paquito Navarrete. Before the bus was burned, the rebels ordered the passengers to disembark. They were not harmed, Navarrete said, adding that the armed men took the mobile phones of the driver and bus conductor.

Meanwhile, Mayor Minita Gabieta, mayoral candidate of the ruling Lakas Party in Jabong, Western Samar told the Philippine National Police (PNP) there was no truth to the reported abduction of her group, adding that they were merely away for four days of campaigning in the hinterlands of Jiabong.

Gabieta's denial came after President Gloria Arroyo condemned the reported kidnapping, adding it was a form of terrorism that the government must not allow to pass. Arroyo ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to help the PNP in guarding local candidates who have received threats from the NPA.

According to initial reports , the PNP said that the NPA abducted Gabieta, Vice Mayor Armingol Caub, along with several councilors and supporters who were allegedly held for ransom of P500,000 ($ 9,090).

A certain Bambi, an NPA commander, led the abduct ion the report said, adding that the NPA rebels ordered Gabieta's staff to go back and get the money.