The Philippine National Police Provincial Director of Negros Oriental said they believe there is a purging of the ranks in the rebel Communist New People’s Army in the northern part of the province.
Acting Provl. Police Director Sr. Supt. Henry Biñas on Wednesday afternoon disclosed that the recent spate of killings in Guihulngan City appear to be allegedly perpetrated by the Communist terrorists who are liquidating uncooperative members or even former members suspected of having left the movement and are now being used as informants for the police and military.
He said he believes there is an internal conflict going on within the NPA organization.
Since Aug. 25, six shooting incidents have been recorded in Guihulngan where suspected Communist terrorists ambushed and shot dead six policemen, including the police chief, and wounding three other police personnel and a civilian on July 21st.
In recent days, the first was the shooting of a former member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographic Unit who was chased by five to seven armed men while harvesting coconuts in Barangay Sandayao. Eugene Sibomit, 60 years old, sustained a gunshot wound in the shoulder but survived the attack.
The following day, Aug. 26, two shooting incidents happened in Guihulngan: one in Barangay McKinley at 5:15 dawn where the victim was identified as Estrellita Estandarte, 47, married, a resident of the said barangay and who was shot and killed by motorcycle-riding in tandem suspects. Late in the evening of the same day, 19-year old Joey Pacunla was shot and wounded by riding- in-tandem suspects while standing on the side of the road in Poblacion Guihulngan. He was brought to a local hospital in Dumaguete.
On Aug. 29 about 7:30 in the morning, another shooting incident took place at Sitio Laos, Barangay Binobohan wherein a 56-year old farmer grazing his carabao was shot and killed by five unidentified suspects. Dressed like farmers, the suspects were said to be wearing bonnets. The victim was initially able to run but stumbled; the suspects eventually caught up with the farmer and finished him off.
The latest shooting victim in Guihulngan City was at around 11:28 Thursday morning, a police report said. The victim was identified as Oscar Solania Asildo Jr., a resident of Sitio Bateria, Barangay Poblacion who sustained gunshot wounds in different parts of his body.
Asildo was the finance administrative assistant III of the Department of Education in Guihulngan, and was shot dead by unidentified suspects while he was driving his four-wheeled vehicle.
In an interview, OIC chief of police Supt. Bonifacio Tecson would not immediately attribute the killings to certain groups, while digging deeper into their motives and possible causes.
Based on the report received by DepEd NIR Asst. Regl. Director Dr. Salustiano Jimenez from his district supervisor in Guihulngan, the victim was shot in broad daylight in front of the testing center for the National Career Assessment Exam at the Guihulngan South Central School.
Due to fear, most of the examinees did not report back to the testing center in the afternoon.
Jimenez enjoined the teachers, principals, supervisors and even non-teaching personnel to follow their mandate, “deal with all kinds of people equally” because they are supposed to be the “most amiable agency in government”.
The DepEd NIR official said he believes that teachers should not be targets of the NPA as they are the ones who teach including the rebels’ children.
Jimenez enjoined the teachers to take extra precaution, even as their husbands, who are active Army or PNP members, have already been requesting for their wives’ transfer from the hinterland areas.
This developed as charges are being finalized for the filing of raps against the suspects and the masterminds of the ambush-killing last month of the six police officers of Guihulngan City.
Sr. Supt. Biñas said evidences are being reviewed, including the identity of one of the leaders who graduated cum laude from a university in Iloilo.
Biñas said he is, however, saddened by the report that some witnesses have started to become uncooperative due to real threats to their lives; others have received monetary offers to keep silent. The Provincial Police Director refused to elaborate.
Meanwhile, he admitted there is a growing culture of fear in Guihulngan City due to the recent spate of killings. Police investigators have yet to determine whether the killings are related to each other.
Sr. Supt. Biñas assured the public especially in Guihulngan City that the police are doing their best to get to the bottom of the shooting incidents that appear to have spiked since the July 21st ambush of the policeman in that northern city. (With reports from Judy Flores Partlow and Juancho Gallarde/PNA)
