On La Castellana Ambush, Murder Raps Filed vs 20 NPA Rebels

From the Negros Daily Bulletin (Feb 6): On La Castellana Ambush, Murder Raps Filed vs 20 NPA Rebels

Police yesterday filed murder and frustrated murder charges against 20 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels suspected to be behind the ambush of nine people in La Castellana, Negros Occidental last Jan. 27.

Senior Superintendent Celestino Guarra Jr., acting Negros Occidental Police Prov’l director, said they have filed nine counts of murder and 14 counts of frustrated murder against the NPA suspects before the Prosecutor’s Office, yesterday afternoon.

The respondents are mostly members of the "Larangan Guerilya 1" of the NPA. A certain Magno Flores was named main respondent in the charges for the ambush that left eight civilians and a policeman dead.

Flores is allegedly the leader of the NPA’s Squad 2 operating in central Negros and he was pinpointed by witnesses as the one leading the ambush, Guarra said.

He said there were about nine members of the squad under Flores, while another squad joined them during the ambush. Guarra added that more charges for violation of the International Human Rights Law will also be filed against the suspects.

MORE SUSPECTS

Guarra said the list of respondents yesterday was not complete yet. They only listed the main "actors" or the "executioners" but later on, the "planners" and "helpers" will also face charges when their identities will be revealed while the investigation continues.

As for Romeo Nanta, a high ranking rebel whom the police and military also tagged as the mastermind behind the ambush, Guarra said they will soon find out if indeed Nanta was among the "planners."

If his name crops up in the investigation, he will also face charges, Guarra said. Nanta, commander of the Regional Operations Command of the NPA in Negros island, was freed from jail after posting bail bond of P100,000 for robbery-in-band charges.

ASSISTANCE

Col. Oscar Lactao, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade based in Murcia, yesterday said they will give more assistance to the survivors and the families of the victims.

One of these is giving psychiatric help to those traumatized by the incident, in coordination with the La Castellana Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, he said.

Lactao reiterated his call to the NPA leaders to surrender their men involved in the ambush, because based on the International Human Rights Law, perpetrators should be surrendered to the competent authority, and that is our judicial system.

Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said the Provincial Capitol is studying the plan to give more assistance to the survivors and families of the victims.

He called the incident a "heinous crime" and said he feels sad for the young children left orphaned because of the death of their parents.

OPAPP

Next to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) is also investigating the bloody ambush in La Castellana.

Lawyers Jaime Arroyo and Norman Carreon of the OPAPP-Government of the Philippines Monitoring Committee Secretariat went to Brgy. Puso to talk to the survivors and the families of the victims to gather evidences on the incident, Capt. Leo Christopher Cunanan, civil-military operations officer of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said.

The two lawyers met with Governor Marañon yesterday afternoon to also brief him of their findings in La Castellana.

Accompanying them in their visit to the governor were Lactao, Guara and the two injured policemen - PO2 Jeffrey Alvarez and PO3 Constantino Villegas.

Killed in the ambush PO1 Richard Canja, civilians Joselito Lucban, Virginia Ordoñez, and truck driver Enrique Dingcong; barangay tanod (watchmen) Timoteo Esplegera and Ulysses Tamayor; and Ramil Compleza, Mario Ricablanca, and Jonathan Mateo, all members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT).

The victims, together with 12 injured others and some civilians, were aboard a Fuso Canter truck on their way home from securing the fiesta in Brgy. Puso La Castellana when they were ambushed by a still undetermined number of NPA rebels.

NO EXCUSE

Meanwhile, former San Carlos mayor and vice gubernatorial bet Eugenio Jose "Bong" Lacson said in a press statement that there is no justifiable excuse for the NPA in killing the civilians.

While the NPA promised to impose disciplinary action against their members, there is a need to clarify what kind of disciplinary action they will take against their members, he said.

"It is hoped that when they discipline their members, the people should be informed because they have a stake over what happened as members of the whole civilian community," Lacson added.

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