NPA owns up to ex-tanod’s slay

By Glazyl Y. Masulino

BACOLOD City – The Leonardo Panaligan Command (LPC)-New People’s Army (NPA) claimed the killing of a former watchman or tanod in Barangay Puso, La Castellana, Negros Occidental last week.

In a press statement, Ka JB Regalado, spokesperson of LPC-NPA, said that the death of Jovanie Omboy, 43, of Barangay Montilla, Moises Padilla town was based on the decision of the revolutionary court.

Omboy, a former member of the Barangay PeaceKeeping Action Team (BPAT), was shot by at least 10 unidentified armed persons in front of his live-in partner while they were walking on their way home on Nov. 20, based on a police report.

Regalado said that NPA members previously talked to Omboy and warned him twice. But he allegedly remained an intelligence asset of the military.

But based on police investigation, Omboy was mistaken for an informant of the Philippine Army because he would often visit the detachment of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in Moises Padilla town.

He was previously arrested for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition in Moises Padilla town. But he was released after he posted bail.

Regalado said that the series of operations of LPC-NPA in Central Negros are the answer of the group to the continuous military operations of the Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB).

Meanwhile, the remains of Victoriano Baldonado alias “Rudy”, who was killed in an encounter with the 62nd IB at Sitio Banderahan, Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Nov. 21, were turned over to his family at Saint Francis Funeral Homes in Barangay Poblacion the following day.

Baldonado was the alleged commanding officer of Section Guerrilla Unit (SGU), Central Negros Front 1 (CN1), Komiteng Rehiyon Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor (KR-NCBS) which operates in the tri-boundaries of Guihulngan City, Canlaon City, both in Negros Oriental and Moises Padilla in Negros Occidental. He was tagged in the killing of a Cafgu in Moises Padilla town on Sept. 24, according to the Army.

The Guihulngan City Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (GCTF-ELCAC) provided the coffin and also gave a sack of rice to the family through the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO).

The LPC-NPA, in a statement, condemned the death of Baldonado, whom they claimed was “brutally murdered” in front of his wife and children at their house.

Regalado said that Baldonado was not a member of the NPA and was a victim of the red-tagging of the military since 2017. The rebel group also said that there was no encounter that happened.