Negros massacre victims’ kin surfaces, will file raps

BACOLOD CITY CEBU, Philippines — The only surviving family member of four people killed in a rebel-infested area in Himamaylan City in Negros Occidental has surfaced and vowed to file charges against the perpetrators of the massacre.

The eldest child of Rolly and Imelda Fausto will file a case before the provincial prosecutor’s office against more than 10 people tagged in the killing of her family members on June 14, Negros Occidental police director Col. Leo Pamittan said, quoting Himamaylan police chief Lt. Col. Reynante Jomocan.

The Army’s 3rd Infantry Division had earlier said New People’s Army (NPA) rebels accused the Fausto couple and their two minor children of being military informants.

Flosemer Gonzales, spokesperson for the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict had said Rolly was targeted because he was a former NPA rebel and was working for the surrender of some of his former comrades, including the in-laws of his eldest daughter.

The Fausto couple and their two children, aged 15 and 11 were found dead in separate areas.

NPA rebels owned up to the killing, according to the military.