NPA claims Kabankalan livestock buyer killing

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The New People’s Army (NPA) claimed responsibility for the shooting death of a livestock buyer in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, marking the third insurgency-linked case in the city this year.

The Armando Sumayang Jr. Command of the NPA said in a statement released Monday that it carried out the killing of a 52-year-old man in Barangay Camansi on Sunday.

The group tagged the victim as an alleged military asset and claimed he had helped lead to the deaths of his brother and another rebel in November 2022.

Police Lt. Col. Roberto Indiape Jr., chief of the Kabankalan City Police Station, said the victim was fixing a motorcycle when two unidentified people arrived and shot him with an unidentified firearm.

Indiape said the victim suffered gunshot wounds to the head and back and was declared dead at a hospital.

Police recovered two fired cartridge casings for a .45-caliber pistol at the scene, Indiape said.

Police initially considered a personal motive but said they did not rule out an insurgency-related angle.

Indiape said the victim had allegedly been introducing himself as an asset of government forces.

He added that the victim’s older brother was killed in an encounter with the military in the same barangay in 2022.

Indiape said the victim’s family has been hesitant to provide more information because of security concerns and the sensitivity of the case.

He said investigators are awaiting the family’s decision on filing charges once the perpetrators are identified.

In October, an alleged former NPA rebel was also gunned down in the same village, and police later linked the case to the rebel group.

The same group also claimed responsibility for the killing of a 53-year-old civilian in Barangay Tapi on Sept. 6, also tagging the victim as an alleged military asset.

Indiape said charges have been filed against the suspects in the two earlier cases.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines and has been involved in a decades-long insurgency that authorities say has included attacks on security forces and alleged “revolutionary punishments” in rural areas.