TOO YOUNG TO BE CORRUPTED. Army reports bared that they captured this young man, identified as Crisologo Guimaras, 21 years old of Bingag, wanted for three counts of rape. He joined the NPA under “Commander Cobra,” where as a warrior, was tasked with a grenade launcher and an improvised bomb. (PIA Bohol/47 IB)
CORTES, Bohol July 6 (PIA) – At certain times in the past, the notorious kangaroo courts of the New People’s Army (NPA) instilled fear among corrupt officials and criminals.
Not anymore as the apparent lie of armed local insurgents unraveled the thread of using and coddling criminals to perpetuate a lost cause.
On this, the Philippine Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion under the leadership of Lt. Col. Allan Tabudlo slammed the NPA members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP-NPA) for terrorizing communities using coddled criminals.
This after the Army and civil authorities unknowingly arrested a wanted person who has a pending warrant of arrest for crime of rape, a day after a fiery encounter between the Army and NPAs on extort mission in Brgy. Bayawahan in Sevilla town on June 27, 2020.
It may be recalled that reports from community residents leaked to the military authorities bared that a group of armed men have been forcefully asking for food and threatening those who refused to give in there.
According to Army Civil Military Operations and information officer First Lieutenant Elma Grace Remonde, troops of 47IB went to the subject area to confirm reports and chanced upon the undetermined number of armed men members of the New People's Army at about 5:45 p.m. in the forested parts of the barangay.
The government troops then engaged the rebels in a ten-minute gunfight as the rebels retreated to the thick forests.
At the Army clearing operations, the government troops recovered one caliber 45 pistol, two caliber 45 magazines, one rifle grenade ammunition, three cellphones, two solar panels, personal belongings, and subversive documents.
Troops also discovered a harboring area with two posts and bunkers that can accommodate 20 persons.
A day after the encounter, residents and the Army sighted a stranger about 500 meters from the encounter site.
Authorities approached the man for not wearing a face mask, a violation against the Executive Order of the Governor, and another possible violation for unauthorized wearing of an Army t-shirt.
The stranger, later identified as Crisologo Guimaras, alias Sam, 21 years old, confessed he was from Brgy. Bingag, Dauis.
Dauis is about 30 kilometers from Sevilla, and Guimaras has no known contacts and relatives in the barangay.
Interrogating authorities then found in his possession an improvised explosive device (IED) and a rifle grenade, which led to Guimaras admitting that he was among the NPAs who clashed with the military troops in the boundary of Sevilla and Bilar towns.
During the interrogation, it was learned that Guimaras has been a regular member of the NPA under the command of Domingo Compoc alias Cobra.
Accordingly, he went into hiding in Luzon after the commission of the crime of rape in 2015.
In 2018, he entered the underground movement that was organized in the hinterlands of Inabanga municipality, province of Bohol, according to the Army CMO official.
Guimaras, who is now in the custody of the Bohol Provincial Police, would be facing violation of RA 9516 (Illegal/Unlawful Possession of Explosives) apart from three counts of rape.
“The incident is evidently showing that the Communist Terrorist Group does not only deceive innocent people, but also harbor criminals who are not willing to submit themselves to the folds of law,” Tabudlo said.
“They [CTG] are tolerating and coddling wanted criminals in order to gain new members and expand their terrorist organization,” he added.
When the NPA kangaroo courts used to be an extrajudicial body to judge violations against the people, now, in desperation to regain their control over the communities, they unwittingly showed the partiality of kangaroo courts, stretching further to protect criminals in their ranks.
Guimaras, being captured before the Anti Terrorism Act became a law, is exempt from a serious charge for terrorism, where he could get a life sentence for an unpardonable offense. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
TERRORISM KNOWS NO GENDER. Female soldiers from the 47th Infantry Battalion distribute pamphlets explaining the modus of the NPAs a few days after Army troops clashed with NPA rebels extorting and intimidating the community in Bayawahan Sevilla, Bohol. The NPAs can now be officially declared terrorists with the new law signed by the President recently. (PIA Bohol/47IB)
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