By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The New People’s Army (NPA) Leonardo Panaligan Command released a statement recently claiming responsibility for the killing of a motorcyclist in Barangay Sebucawan, Isabela, Negros Occidental.

Spokesperson Ka JB Regalado claimed 44-year-old Jomarie Daleos Saracia was an informant for the Philippine Army, primarily in the upper areas of Isabela and neighboring Moises Padilla.

Regalado accused Saracia of using the NPA’s name to extort money and items from local communities.

He added, they recovered Saracia’s mobile phone, which the latter reportedly used to communicate with government forces.

Saracia was gunned down by five armed men as he was heading to church last Sunday.

He is currently the third individual murdered by the NPA in Isabela in recent times, following the deaths of Barangay Captains Roy Pagapang and Agapito Euroba.

Isabela municipal police, meanwhile, have refused to comment if Saracia was indeed an asset of the army./DGB, WDJ