Bello to ask NBI to probe farmers’ killings in Nueva Ecija

From GMA News (Sep 10): Bello to ask NBI to probe farmers’ killings in Nueva Ecija

Labor Secretary and lead peace negotiator with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Silvestre Bello III on Saturday vowed justice for farmers slain in their homes in Laur, Nueva Ecija.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said that Bello will request the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the series of killings in the province.

"I will request the NBI to investigate these dastardly acts to ensure that the perpetrators are identified and brought to justice,” Bello said.

The slain farmers, identified as Emerenciana Mercado-de la Cruz, Violeta Mercado-de Leon, Eligio Barbado, and Gaudencio Bagalay, were shot dead while resting in a nipa hut in their farm in Laur last September 3.

Several others were wounded in the carnage perpetrated by still unidentified gunmen whose firearms were reportedly dropped from a helicopter.

Four days later, Danggayan Dagiti Mannalon ti Isabela (DAGAMI) chairperson Ariel Diaz was shot to death by three armed men in his farm in Villa Pereda, Delfin Albano town in Isabela.

Diaz was the head of the the provincial chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Plipinas (KMP) in Isabela.

The four farmers belonged to the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid na Nagkakaisa, a chapter of the KMP.

Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, adviser of the government's peace panel, had earlier condemned the killings.

He alleged that the CPP's armed wing, the New People’s Army, and its political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF) are behind the killings due to land disputes.

In response to Pamintuan's statement, Bello said that there cannot be a repeat of the 1987 Mendiola massacre which resulted to the NDF pulling out of negotiations.

"We cannot allow a repeat of the Mendiola massacre where peasant leaders and farmers had been killed while we are in the middle of peace negotiations," Bello said.

Formal negotiations were recently held in Oslo, Norway, ending with several major issues resolved. Both panels have also agreed to implement a ceasefire. The two parties will meet again in the first week of October. 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/580926/news/regions/bello-to-ask-nbi-to-probe-farmers-killings-in-nueva-ecija