Cops to file murder raps vs 9 alleged terrorists

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Policemen are preparing the filing of murder charges against nine alleged members of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) tagged in the killing of two village chiefs in the towns of Isabela and Calatrava in Negros Occidental last week.

Police Captain Joseph Partidas, Isabela town police chief, said the charges will be filed against two CTG members for the death of Danilo Dautil, 62, barangay captain of Cabcab in Isabela town.

The CTG has been a standard nomenclature used by the military in describing communist rebels, particularly the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing New People’s Army.

Dautil was riding his motorcycle on his way home when he was shot in the head and chest by the perpetrators who were hiding beside the sugarcane field on Aug. 24.

Police earlier considered the case as insurgency-related because Dautil was active in supporting the government to maintain peace and order in the village.

Partidas said that Dautil’s gunmen were identified through a witness.

Meanwhile, Police Major Lumyaen Lidawan, Calatrava town police chief, said that the same charges will also be filed against seven alleged members of the CTG for the death of Benjamin Javoc, 54, barangay captain of Lalong in the town.

Javoc was shot by at least 10 armed persons outside their house on Aug. 26. Lidawan also earlier said that the incident might be considered insurgency-related.

Lidawan said that of the 10 perpetrators, only seven have been identified and will be charged. He said the three other armed persons remain to be unidentified.

Just like the case of Isabela, Lidawan said that the seven perpetrators were also identified through some witnesses.

Recently, the Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) announced that it will give a cash reward of P100,000 to P300,000 to anyone who can give information that could lead to the arrest of Javoc’s perpetrators in Calatrava town.

The Army is just waiting for any information about the whereabouts of the perpetrators, which they believed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA), so they could act on it accordingly.