Negros Oriental provincial police director Col. Julian Entoma. (File photo)
A farmer and former member of the government’s paramilitary group was gunned down by suspected members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Wednesday night.
Provincial police director, Col. Julian Entoma, in an interview Thursday afternoon, said the perpetrators in this latest shooting incident in Guihulngan are believed to be members of the same group operating in the northern Negros area and also responsible for previous shooting incidents in that city.
A report from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office identified the victim as Joseph Redocto Bitonga, 41, married, a resident of Sitio Budlasan, Barangay Trinidad in Guihulngan.
Bitonga, a former member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), was shot while sitting outside his house in Sitio Budlasan by two unidentified male suspects.
He died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Entoma said the rebels operating in Guihulngan now appear to have split into smaller groups so that they would not be easily spotted by government troops as they are allegedly going around, asking for food from residents in the hinterland areas.
There seems to be a pattern that they are out to target civilians or former members of the AFP who they believe are feeding information to law enforcement authorities about the alleged NPA rebels' movements and presence in their communities, Entoma said.
Bitonga was said to have been among those targeted in Oplan Sauron, a massive police operation in late 2018 and early 2019 against illegal possession of firearms, he said.
One Oplan Sauron operation alone left at least 14 peasants and suspected NPA members dead, and several others arrested.
Based on police investigation, Bitonga was suspected to have been an “informant” of the military and barangay officials afterward which is eyed as the possible reason he was gunned down, Entoma said.
Just last week, Elpedio Julwar dela Cerna Mahinay, a village councilman of Sitio Maambog, Barangay Planas in Guihulngan was also killed allegedly by NPA rebels, he said.
The suspects were overheard as saying that Mahinay had allowed himself “to be used by the Army and the government”.
Entoma said he has advised those who believe they are targets of the NPA, especially the ones living in remote and hinterland villages, to transfer residence for now, preferably to areas where a military detachment is present.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1103573
Provincial police director, Col. Julian Entoma, in an interview Thursday afternoon, said the perpetrators in this latest shooting incident in Guihulngan are believed to be members of the same group operating in the northern Negros area and also responsible for previous shooting incidents in that city.
A report from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office identified the victim as Joseph Redocto Bitonga, 41, married, a resident of Sitio Budlasan, Barangay Trinidad in Guihulngan.
Bitonga, a former member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), was shot while sitting outside his house in Sitio Budlasan by two unidentified male suspects.
He died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Entoma said the rebels operating in Guihulngan now appear to have split into smaller groups so that they would not be easily spotted by government troops as they are allegedly going around, asking for food from residents in the hinterland areas.
There seems to be a pattern that they are out to target civilians or former members of the AFP who they believe are feeding information to law enforcement authorities about the alleged NPA rebels' movements and presence in their communities, Entoma said.
Bitonga was said to have been among those targeted in Oplan Sauron, a massive police operation in late 2018 and early 2019 against illegal possession of firearms, he said.
One Oplan Sauron operation alone left at least 14 peasants and suspected NPA members dead, and several others arrested.
Based on police investigation, Bitonga was suspected to have been an “informant” of the military and barangay officials afterward which is eyed as the possible reason he was gunned down, Entoma said.
Just last week, Elpedio Julwar dela Cerna Mahinay, a village councilman of Sitio Maambog, Barangay Planas in Guihulngan was also killed allegedly by NPA rebels, he said.
The suspects were overheard as saying that Mahinay had allowed himself “to be used by the Army and the government”.
Entoma said he has advised those who believe they are targets of the NPA, especially the ones living in remote and hinterland villages, to transfer residence for now, preferably to areas where a military detachment is present.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1103573
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