BAUKO, Mountain Province: A police officer was killed while eight of his colleagues were wounded after improvised explosive device exploded, suspected to be a land mine, while they were conducting hot pursuit operations against fleeing heavily armed members of the New People’s Army at the boundary of Bauko and Tadian towns on Tuesday. Chief Supt. Israel Efraim Dixon, regional director of the Police Regional Office in the Cordillera, said killed was Police Corporal Marlon Casil, of Kibungan Benguet . Wounded were Patrolman Erwin Calixto, Police Corporals Macelo Bayeng, Ramadick Melay, Clifford Gama, Edwin Keya and John Calcaligong, Staff Sgt. Salvador Agalatiw and Master Sgt. Alpides Alvaro, all members of the 1502nd maneuver company of the Regional Mobile Force Company. Dixon said personnel of the Bauko and Tadian Municipal Police Stations conducted rescue operations to extricate the killed and wounded police officers in the area. Earlier Patrolman Wildredo Padawil was killed while Police Corporal Airpeel Lapniten was injured when law enforcers engaged about 15 heavily armed rebels in an encounter in the mountainous portion of sitio Malabagan, Bagnen Proper on Thursday.
