Kagawad shot dead in Cauayan, probe underway

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — The Police Regional Office–Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) has ordered the creation of a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to thoroughly investigate the killing of a barangay councilor and active member of an anti-communist organization in Purok 1, Barangay Tambad, Cauayan, Negros Occidental, on Monday.

The SITG will be composed of personnel from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo), Cauayan Municipal Police Station, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and other support units, in coordination with the Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion (IB), which is tasked to explore all possible angles, including motives related to the victim’s position and his affiliation with Sambayanan – Cauayan Chapter.

A report from PRO-NIR showed that the victim was shot dead by unidentified assailants outside his home around 5 a.m. when six armed men arrived and called him out.

The victim sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen and was declared dead at a hospital, police said.

The incident was reported to authorities around 7:30 a.m.

Recovered from the scene were three empty cartridges and a deformed slug, all of 5.56mm caliber, believed to have been fired from a long firearm.

Police Brig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay, PRO-NIR director, condemned the killing, calling it “a cowardly act that has no place in a peaceful and democratic society.”

“We condemn in the strongest terms this violent attack against an elected barangay official,” Ibay said in a statement, assuring that the regional office will exhaust all resources to ensure justice is served and that those responsible are held accountable.

He emphasized that PRO-NIR remains committed to maintaining peace and security in communities across the region and to protecting the lives of local leaders who serve as key partners in development and peacekeeping.

The attack occurred three weeks after a 34-year-old purok chairwoman of Purok 5, Barangay Lina-on, in the same town, was gunned down by alleged New People’s Army rebels outside her home on Oct. 14, after being accused of acting as a government asset.