Family of 4 slain in Negros

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Four members of a family were killed by unidentified assailants in a rebel-infested area in Himamaylan, Negros Occidental on Wednesday night.

The remains of Rolly Fausto, 50; his wife Imelda, 49, and their two children aged 15 and 11 years were found in separate areas, police said.

Fausto was found in a cornfield some 50 meters away from his house. His wife and children were found in and outside their house in Sitio Kangkiling, Barangay Buenavista.

A third child, who was not home during the massacre, discovered and reported the incident to the Himamaylan police.

Village chief Harry Higgins said the family, whose livelihood depends on  farming, recently settled in the area from Basay, Negros Oriental.

Some quarters said Fausto had been red-tagged by the military.

Higgins said encounters between government security forces and communist guerrillas have been occuring in the area in the past several months.

He said the series of gunshots that erupted at past 10 p.m. on Wednesday made residents think that it was just another firefight between the military and the rebels.

Peasant group Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura condemned the incident.

Authorities have yet to identify the assailants and determine the motive for the killing. – Emmanuel Tupas