2 Reds charged in Bayan leaders’ slays

Police have filed murder charges against two suspected hit men of the New People’s Army (NPA) for the killings of two Bayan Muna leaders in Isabela early this month.

Chief Superintendent Jefferson Soriano, Cagayan Valley police director, said double murder charges were filed against Renato Busania and Timoteo Corpuz Jr., both belonging to the Southern Isabela Front of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA.

A witness, who claims to personally know the two, tagged them in the gunslaying of Bayan Muna-Isabela leaders Elena "Baby" Mendiola and her live-in partner, Ricardo Balauag, Soriano said.

The victims were buying ripe mangoes from a fruit stand in Barangay Garit Sur, Echague town when they were attacked last May 10.

Soriano said the motive behind the twin killings was all about money.

"Apparently they mishandled the funds (of the CPP-NPA Cagayan Valley Regional Party Committee)," he said, adding that the couple was reportedly directly in charge of collecting funds for the committee.

Aside from this, Mendiola and Balauag were reportedly involved in alleged anomalous transactions with a peasant group in Jones town, Soriano said.

The couple, he said, allegedly collected huge amounts from Jones farmers but failed to fulfill their promise to have the farmers’ lands titled under their names.

Soriano said Mendiola and Balauag were in fact the targets of a failed slay try last March 10.

Soriano said a combined police-military team has launched a regionwide manhunt for Busania and Corpuz.

Senior Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao, spokesman of the Philippine National Police, said local military units and the National Bureau of Investigation are joining the manhunt.

Deputy Director General Avelino Razon Jr. earlier made available the resources and technical expertise of Task Force Usig to assist the local police in investigating the Mendiola-Balauag double murder case.

Razon, PNP deputy chief for operations, is concurrent Task Force Usig chief.

Pagdilao said the Mendiola-Balauag killing is the 15th involving party-list members believed to have been carried out by the NPA since 2001.

According to Task Force Usig, a total of 124 members of party-list and cause-oriented groups have been killed in the past five years.

Karapatan, a human rights group, however, placed the total number of victims at 262.

International groups have called on President Arroyo to address the killings of militants and journalists alike.