The attack resulted in the death of three soldiers.
Senior Inspector Crisanto Duque, Tuburan police chief, said the rebels took away at least five M14 and three M16 rifles, several ammunition and the soldiers’ personal belongings.
Centcom spokesman Lt. Col. Jefferson Omandam said soldiers have been fielded to run after the rebels even as the Philippine Navy also assigned troops to keep an eye on the seawater of Cebu to monitor the activities of the rebels who might flee to nearby island provinces.
"We expect a bloody encounter when we see them (rebels), and I hope that they are prepared for that," Omandam said as he urged the public to cooperate with the government in locating the rebels.
Although Centcom has launched a "war" against the rebels, whom Omandam believed were still in the mountains of Cebu, he said that the government troops will ensure that no civilians will be hurt in the operation.
"The rebels have attacked us in a treacherous manner, and we will address this accordingly," said Omandam.
The rebels, who were undetected because they used short firearms, killed team leader Sgt. Orlando Luna, Cpl. Bobby Oscar Licono and Private First Class Joseph Bingil, all of the 78th Infantry Battalion.
The rebels also shot but failed to hit Private First Class Roger Dagundon, who fled on foot to the town proper to report the incident to the Tuburan police station more than 10 kilometers away. They did not also see Private First Class Merayo hiding in the shrubs.
It was market day in Barangay Sumon, and the soldiers joined the activities surrounding the barangay hall.
Though they noticed new faces in the crowd at the market, the residents and the six soldiers did not think this was odd because they thought the strangers merely came to see what products Sumon had to sell.
Omandam said the soldiers in the detachment were members of the Special Operations Team under the 78th IB’s Charlie Company, who were trained not in combat operations but in civil relations.
He said the soldiers were deployed to Tuburan to conduct "non-combat" missions such as dialogues with residents, medical missions, among others, after the military had assessed that the NPA strength in the town was "manageable."
This was the first time in recent years that the rebels raided a military detachment in Cebu.
"In all languages, this is terrorism. It’s a clear terrorist act. It’s murder. The NPA is the number one violator of human rights in our country. They violate basic human rights, including the doctrine of respecting our enemies," Omandam said.
