“It is a vain attempt to cover-up the fact that an armed PNP (Philippine National Police) unit on offensive operation was effectively neutralized by a 14-man NPA unit. Sanchez, narrating how rebels carried out the ambush, said: “An NPA platoon was positioned at the mountainside of Barangay Sibayan in order to frustrate military and police operations in the area. The NPA command was in anticipating police and military operations to be coordinated by the 39th Infantry Battalion. The NPA squad desisted from striking when it saw civilians on motorcycles were in close proximity to the moving PNP vehicle. At 7:10 a.m., the NPA squad, positioned eight meters from the road, ambushed the passing mobile vehicle.

Source: Manila Times March 11, 2017 13:07 UTC