Guihulngan City mayor’s bodyguard gunned down

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines —  A bodyguard of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental Mayor Guido Reyes was shot dead Tuesday morning by yet unidentified assailants, later believed to be communist rebels.

Guihulngan City Police have identified the victim as 63-year-old Policarpio Bulado, a resident of Barangay Bulado of the same city, who was an erstwhile job order employee at the Guihulngan City Hall and worked as a security aide for Mayor Reyes.

Initial police investigation showed that Bulado was feeding his chickens at an abandoned slaughterhouse at around 9:35 a.m. Tuesday when the assassins came and sprayed him with gunfire.

Bulado sustained at least 10 gunshot wounds, including one on the head, Baquiran said, adding that more than 10 empty bullets from .45 caliber and 9mm pistols were recovered from the crime scene.

As of this writing, police are still facing a blank wall on the incident because there were no eyewitnesses to the crime.

Baquiran, however, told The FREEMAN the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels might be the perpetrators. This was because bystanders who happened to pass by the abandoned slaughterhouse heard shouts of “Mabuhay ang NPA” after hearing several gunshots.

Considering that Bulado’s son is currently an active member of the Philippine Army, the police have looked into the  angle that communist rebels may be behind his killing, Baquiran said, and that it had nothing to do with his work as a bodyguard for Mayor Reyes.

The Bulado killing was the third shooting incident in Guihulngan City within a month, and the second to involve a government employee who directly works for a local chief executive.

Last July 4, yet unidentified motorcycle-riding suspects also shot dead Leonidas Dausan, driver of Guihulngan City Vice Mayor Ernesto Reyes, while he was a filling up at a gasoline station. Police however are looking into the possibility that a love triangle gone wrong may have been the motive in the killing.

Last week, Larry de Gracia, a retired master sergeant for the Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion and later manager of Bulado Port, was also shot dead by communist rebels. The NPA’s Leonardo Panaligan Command in central Negros has since claimed responsibility for the crime.

Despite the series of killings in his city that have even caused concern online, Baquiran said the police is also intensifying its efforts to maintain peace and order in Guihulngan.

“Nakikipag-coordinate na rin tayo with other government and non-government organizations para (maibsan ang kriminalidad) sa Guihulngan City,” he told The FREEMAN in a phone interview.