Assembly Member During Marcos Regime, 2 Others Slain in Philippine Ambush

David Puzon, a former National Assembly member during the regime of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, his driver and another man were shot to death early today in an ambush on the outskirts of Manila, officials reported.

No group asserted responsibility for the ambush.

Tom Bacalzo of the police information office said Puzon’s car was attacked shortly after 7 a.m. on the MacArthur Highway.

Bacalzo quoted police reports as saying that Puzon’s daughter-in-law was wounded in the ambush and that the two other men killed were Puzon’s chauffeur, Romeo Reyes, and a companion, Manuel Viloria.

Ally of Marcos

Puzon, a conservative, had served in the now-disbanded National Assembly as a member of Marcos’ New Society Movement.

Police sources said Puzon was en route to inspect a family lumber operation in Bulacan province when his car was attacked.

Manila radio stations, interrupting their regular broadcasts to report the ambush, said no suspects had been arrested.

The slayings added to recent tension in the Philippines.

On Saturday, Japanese businessman Nobuyuki Wakaoji was kidnaped by five armed men while driving home from a round of golf at a suburban country club.

Six days ago, Rolando Olalia, 52, a union leader and leftist politician, was found slain in northeastern Manila.

Enrile Denies Role

Leftists claimed that military groups associated with Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile killed Olalia in a campaign against the left and to destabilize President Corazon Aquino’s government. He has denied involvement.

Enrile, who has criticized Aquino for being too soft on Communist rebels, is a former Marcos associate who helped oust him in February in a civilian-backed military coup.

On Tuesday, Ramon Mitra, a government negotiator with the Communist rebels, said that truce talks may not resume until after the New Year because of Olalia’s assassination.

The Communist-dominated National Democratic Front, which has been negotiating with the government since August, suspended the talks after Olalia’s bullet-riddled body was discovered beside a suburban highway.

‘Major Setback’

Mitra, the agriculture minister, called the killing of Olalia a “major setback” in efforts to end the 17-year Communist rebellion.

“It is a pity the negotiations were suspended at the time when we were on the brink on signing a cease-fire agreement,” he said.

Mitra said he thinks more meetings this year are “out of the question.”