Injured	Killed
1	1

Date: 07 February 2010
Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=547487&publicationSubCategoryId=200

Leftist rebels kill government militiaman in raid in Masbate
(philstar.com) Updated February 07, 2010 04:00 PM

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Gunmen barged into a civilian’s residence in eastern Philippines Sunday morning, killing an off-duty militiaman and wounding another, an army spokesman said.

Pedro Rodriguez was shot dead by leftist New People’s Army rebels who broke into his house in Juan town of Masbate province and his cousin, Ronald Rodriguez, was wounded by stray bullets, said Maj. Harold Cabunoc, spokesman of the military’s 9th Infantry Division.

Cabunoc said the motive of the murder is being investigated. Also on Sunday, leftist rebels bombed a backhoe and a payloader owned by a private construction company in Masbate after extortion demand was ignored, Cabunoc said.

“The heavy equipment were rigged with improvised explosive devices and were partially destroyed by the explosion,” he said.

The New People’s Army, with roughly 5,000 armed members, has been waging a guerrilla campaign to topple the government for decades. President Arroyo vowed to solve leftist insurgency before she steps down in June. The military claims that they have managed to bust a number of guerrilla fronts and persuaded former rebels to lay down guns and embrace rule of law.