TACLOBAN CITY – Military officials said they have high degree of certainty that there were New People’s Army VIPs (very important persons) on board a motorized boat that exploded in Catbalogan City around 4 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 22.
The said motorized boat exploded during a firefight with the government troops.
Major General Edgardo de Leon, Commander of the 8th Infantry Division, said the explosion was so powerful that the pursuing soldiers were temporarily ‘blinded,’ hence they had to wait until morning to check the area.
However, the soldiers found nothing except debris from the boat.
Earlier reports disclosed that the Joint Special Operations Task Force Trident and Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) encountered more or less 10 armed men traversing towards the south of Buri Island.
There were allegations that two high-ranking leaders of the NPA in Benito Tiamzon and his wife, Wilma, were part of the fleeing NPA group after the encounter.
"There were assessments that they could be the Tiamzon leaders. However, we could not categorically say that it was them," said Maj. Gen. De Leon.
"The explosion was so powerful that even our troops felt the tremor. They were within rifle's reach not more than 50 meters away but their night vision goggles had no recorder," said De Leon.
But the military insisted that there were NPA VIPs that were trying to escape after the soldiers cordoned the area.
Tiamzon is a National Democratic Front consultant. He is the vice chairman, executive committee member, and political bureau member of the CPP-NPA-NDF.
His wife, Wilma, is the CPP secretary general, executive committee member, and political bureau member of the CPP-NPA-NDF, NDFP negotiating panel National Consultant, and the National Finance Commission Secretary.
According to the military the couple may have been neutralized during the said encounter in Buri Island.
The military stressed that their operations will remain because they believe that the NPA leaders are present in their target area.
“We started from Northern Samar. The encounter went down to the triboundary of Eastern, Northern, and Western Samar up to San Jose de Buan. We are not giving up because we don't want to waste the opportunity," said De Leon.
De Leon said that there were no sightings of the couple in Catbalogan City even prior to the incident.
"From what we know, they are in the middle of the mountains where we operate, not in the city," he said.
De Leon also pointed out that the incident is not a special case despite the presence of Special Forces.
He noted the success of their operation with the help of the Navy who have long been monitoring the area.