MANILA, Philippines -- Suspected communist gunmen ambushed the mayor of a Manila suburb today -- killing seven of his bodyguards -- and killing a businessman on his way to church in what police said was an apparent 'celebration' of the rebel army's 19th year of battle.
Malabon Mayor Prospero Oreta, who is distantly related to President Corazon Aquino by marriage, was in stable condition with a gunshot wound today after a hit squad traveling in two cars ambushed him as he was on his way to work.
An independent television reported that the Manila-based Alex Boncayao Brigade, an urban cell of the communist army, claimed responsibility for the ambush in a letter to police headquarters.
Just hours after the ambush, three unidentified gunmen shot and killed the brother of leftist leader Jose Castro. 'I think they were trying to get me,' said Castro, whose brother Francisco died shortly afterward in a suburban hospital.
Police said the second ambush could have been the work of right-wing extremists retaliating for the Oreta attack.
Oreta, struck by a bullet in the face, underwent emergency surgery and was listed in stable condition. Seven of his eight bodyguards died in a hail of automatic rifle fire. The eighth was seriously injured.
Police and military officials were treating the Oreta ambush as the work of communist guerrillas. If so, the assault would mark the bloodiest attack in the capital by the communists.
President Aquino issued a statement saying she was 'shocked and saddened by these acts of violence.'
'I have always asked our people to resort to the ways of peace,' the president said. 'My hope is that the democracy in our country gains a stronger foothold.'
On Sunday, two gunmen -- a man and a woman -- murdered millionaire businessman Ruben Saulog, 52, and injured his wife as the couple was driving to a Palm Sunday mass, police said. Saulog, owner of a Manila bus company, died from several bullet wounds.
The attacks came as the 25,000-strong communist New People's Army approached the Tuesday anniversary of their 19th year of battle against the government.
'It's their way of celebrating, bringing in some victories,' said armed forces spokesman Col. Oscar Florendo about the daring daylight attacks.
Undersecretary of Defense Fortunato Abad described the attacks as a 'show of force in Manila.'
The NPA began as a ragtag band of some 35 guerrillas with only 70 rifles in 1969 and now poses a serious challenge to the government. The group was formed in Aquino's home province of Tarlac, just north of Manila, and now operate in every province of the Philippines.
The country's armed forces were placed on 'selective red alert' for the anniversary.
'They could be celebrating all week,' said spokesman Florendo.
Field commanders in the strife-torn southern island of Mindanao said intelligence reports showed the rebels planned attacks on the military and some of the many multinational companies operating on the island.
Florendo said Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Renato de Villa had flown to Mindanao to 'assess the insurgency situation.'
The Manila attacks came one day after the military reported 27 people were killed in three days of clashes with the guerrillas.
In a battle in the northern Philippines, a 200-man NPA band attacked and burned a remote army camp, killing two soldiers and one civilian, the military said.
Ground troops, backed by helicopter gunships, pursued the fleeing rebels, killing five guerrillas in a 13-hour running battle, a military report said.