RPP-ABB leader in Iloilo killed in ambush

MANILA, Philippines - The provincial commander of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA-ABB) was killed in an ambush Friday afternoon.

Tababa, 45, suffered 11 gunshot wounds. He had just fetched his seven-year-old daughter from school and was driving a motorcycle on their way to Barangay Bagacay in Tigbauan, Iloilo when three men hot him. His daughter was unharmed.

Ka Rolly, spokesman for the RPM-P/RPA-ABB’s Nilo de la Cruz faction in Panay,  vowed to avenge Tababa’s death.

In a text message, Ka Rolly said they will “do everything to impose justice to whoever is responsible for the killing.”

Initial investigation pointed to leaders of the New People’s Army, of which the RPM-P/RPA-ABB is a breakaway group, as suspects. Investigators are also eyeing a land dispute in which Tababa stood as a witness.

A source said the incident was election-related since the victim was allegedly connected with a political kingpin in the first district of Iloilo.