20 suspects Id’d: PNP to file murder raps

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  â€” At least 20 alleged members of the New People’s Army who were suspects in Sunday’s ambush in La Castellana, Negros Occidental that killed nine people and wounded others, have been identified by the police.

Murder and frustrated murder charges are expected to be filed by the police against the suspects either today (Friday) or next week, said Sr. Supt. Celestino Guara Jr, acting Negros Occidental Police director and head of the Task Force La Castellana tasked to investigate and track down the perpetrators.

Guara said his command already have the names of 20 rebel suspects in what the police and the military called the “massacre of civilians,” based on gathered intelligence reports from both the police and the military.

Based on accounts of the survivors, some of the NPA suspects were based in southern Negros, said Guara although he clarified that the list was still subject to validation until yesterday.

More than 300 empty shells of assorted high-powered firearms, such as M14 and M16, and including an AK 47 assault rifle, a firearm identified with the NPA, were recovered from the ambush site, after a 30-minute gunfire, the military said.

The fatalities were PO1 Richard Canja, believed to be the real target of the ambushers; Jonathan Mateo, Ulysses Tamayor and Ramil Compleza—members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team of Cabacungan Police outpost; tanods Mario Ricablanca and Timoteo Esplegera; truck driver Ricky Dingcong; and civilians Lito Lucban and Virginia Ordoñez.

Because of the violent incident, La Castellana town was included in the election watchlist areas in Negros Occidental by the Provincial Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center, consisting of the Comelec, the PNP and the Philippine Army.

This brought to 12 the number of towns and cities in Negros Occidental placed on the Comelec and PNP watchlist in relation to the May 2013 elections.

Guara said the 302nd Infantry Brigade will put up a detachment and assign additional Army personnel in Barangay Puso to ensure the safety of the residents there. He explained that they did not conclude immediately that it was the NPA rebels who were behind the massacre because underground movement has been perceived to value human life.

Guara said the perpetrators may have been high on illegal drugs as the gruesome crime could not have been done by rational persons. He pointed out, however, that from all indication only the NPA rebels were capable of the inhuman act because of the number of firearms and ammunitions used.

More groups have condemned the ambush, the latest of these were Bayan Muna, Peace Advocates of Negros and Diocese of Bacolod.

The Commission on Human Rights, on the other hand, is now conducting a parallel investigation on the brutal ambush, which also injured 12 people, including two policemen.  (FREEMAN)