Residents of this farming town of Impasug-ong condemned the ambush-killing of town Mayor Mario T. Okinlay on Wednesday morning, the military said.
The military has tagged the communist New People’s Army (NPA) as responsible for the killing of Okinlay, said Maj. Christian Uy, spokesman for the Army’s Fourth Infantry “Diamond” Division based in Cagayan de Oro City.
“The Army’s 8 Infantry Battalion [IB] and the local residents here jointly denounced the killing of Okinlay, who was killed while delivering the government’s basic services to the poor farmers of Bontongon,” Uy said.
Lt. Col. Romualdo Reymund Landingin, 8th IB commander, said that the killing of Okinlay showed that the NPA rebels do not want peace and development in the largely tribal community of Impasug-ong.
He said the NPA sees Okinlay as an obstacle to the rebels’ objective of deceiving the impoverished people of Impasug-ong.
Okinlay was on his way home on Wednesday morning after an overnight stay in the remote village of Bontongon when waylaid and killed by unidentified armed men.
Uy said the military escorts had reported that three to five armed men ambushed Okinlay, who was on his motorcycle ahead of the security escorts and the main convoy of the military and police, the local government personnel and Bureau of Fire Protection personnel.
Uy said the suspects have singled out Okinlay as the main target because the armed men spared the main convoy.
Bukidnon Gov. Jose Maria Zubiri earlier called for a deeper investigation of the incident, since the NPA’s hierarchy has not issued a statement to claim responsibility for the ambush-slaying of Okinlay.
Okinlay belonged to Zubiri’s political party and has been active in the province’s peace and development endeavor through the “Hatid Serbisyo Sa Barangay” (Bring the Services to the Barangay) program of the local government.
The program aims to provide the poor farmers free consultation and medical checkup, giving of medicines, dental services, land-titling assistance, registration, feeding program, immunization of livestocks and free haircut, among others.
The local government and other stakeholders, headed by the local chief executive, also held a consultative meeting to hear the concerns and needs of the poor farmers in remote mountain villages.
Zubiri described the death of Okinlay as a great loss of the people of Impasug-ong, in particular, and the people of Bukidnon, in general.
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