The secretary-general of cause-oriented group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Panay has been indicted for murder and multiple attempted murder over the April 7 ambush of Philippine Army soldiers in Lambunao, Iloilo.
The Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office found probable cause to charge Elmer Forro and several other unidentified individuals in the killing of Private First Class Mark Nemis of Madalag, Aklan, according to Lambunao police chief Major Jogen Suegay.
“The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) has three witnesses pointing to Forro as the one who led the ambush,” said Suegay.
Forro, for his part, denied any involvement in the ambush, saying he was not in Lambunao when the incident happened around 7 a.m.
According to Forro, he and his companions were packing food in Iloilo City as part of their group’s relief drive to families displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Forro also said that on Aug. 6, he was in the town of Pavia attending a seminar. A priest is ready to testify his presence on that day, he added.
Meanwhile, Major Cenon Pancito III, 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson said: “We leave it now to the wisdom of the fiscal’s office on how they would weigh pertinent information.”
The slain soldier, Nemis, belonged to the 301st Infantry Brigade based in Camp Hernandez in Dingle, Iloilo. He was 24 years old.
While conducting security patrol and coronavirus awareness drive, the 301IB troops engaged in a gunfight with suspected communist rebels. Nemis was the lone casualty./PN
http://www.panaynews.net/activist-indicted-for-murder-over-soldiers-ambush/
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-New Patriotic Alliance) is a Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) multisectoral umbrella front organization. BAYAN has regional/local chapters active throughout the country.
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