Five policemen were killed in an ambush on Friday afternoon by alleged members of the New People's Army (NPA) in Labo, Camarines Norte, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Saturday.

The five, who belong to the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Co ., died at the vicinity of Purok 6 in Barangay Dumangmang, Labo. Two others were wounded in the ambush which happened at 9:45 pm.

Lt. General Guillermo Eleazar, PNP Officer-in-Charge, said that in consultation with PNP chief General Debold Sinas and in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, police in Calabarzon and Bicol regions have been ordered ''to hit back'' at the attackers.

''I am ordering the regional directors of PRO 4a (Calabarzon), Police Brig. General Felipe Natividad and PRO5 (Bicol), Police Brig. General Bartolome Bustamante to mobilize their forces and hit back not only on those responsible but also on the NPA operating in their respective Areas of Responsibility,'' said Eleazar in a statement.

The seven policemen were among those tasked to secure a road project in Labo that would connect another portion of Quezon province to Camarines Norte to ease transport of goods for local farmers and allow local residents to move about.

''The construction company informed our local PNP unit about receiving a demand letter from local CPP-NPA-NDF forces that they have to pay a range of 3 percent to 5 percent of the cost of the entire Labo-Tagkawayan Road project as an assurance that the company would not be harassed at the span of the construction,'' said Eleazar in a statement.

''The threat is that they would burn all the equipment being used for the construction project if they would not pay,'' Eleazar added.

Eleazar said he is also ordering Bustamante to conduct a thorough investigation to identify those who may have aided these NPAs in the conduct of their ambush and to bring them to court.

''The CPP-NPA-NDF has been given all the opportunity to sit down in order to give peace and development a chance for the Filipino people. Yet over the years, they repeatedly turned down peace negotiations and instead resort to cowardly attacks even in the time of the pandemic,'' he said.

''Clearly, these people do not understand the language of peace so will deal with them in manner that they fully understand our message that we shall never tolerate this kind of terrorism activity.'' he added. DMS