ILOILO, Philippines - Two policemen and a civilian were hurt in an ambush by New People's Army (NPA) members in Pontevedra town, Capiz province on Friday morning.

Inspector Kenneth Ray Militar, Pontevedra police chief, identified the injured victims as Senior Police Officer 3 Isagani Dadivas, Senior Police Officer 1 Leonie Dadivas and Maximo Bartlome, a resident of Barangay Bante, Pontevedra.

Militar said the 2 policemen were among the 8 personnel on board 2 mobile cars that were supposed to fetch another group of policemen, who were checking the presence of NPA members in Barangay Pante.

He said that around 6 a.m., the Pontevedra Police Station received a report about the presence of communist rebels in the barangay.

Militar said he led the police team that verified the report. He said civilians confirmed it, but his team failed to catch up on the rebels.

Before they returned to the police station, Militar said they called for reinforcement.

He said that the rebel group that visited Barangay Pante left several of its members in the area and ambushed the reinforcement.

Militar added that the rebels also used landmines during the attack.

Three of the landmines that failed to explode were recovered by the police. -- Report from John Mark Guda, ABS-CBN Iloilo