Unnamed Negros Occidental mayor said to be behind the killings
By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
A group of protesters held a rally at the Bacolod Public Plaza over the weekend and called on President Rodrigo Duterte to look into recent killings in Negros Occidental, which they called an “injustice” being conducted by an unnamed mayor in the province.
Task Force Kasanag (TFK) Negros head Edsel Vaflor said they were demonstrating for families and victims of injustice, highlighting recent killings in Isabela and Moises Padilla.
He pointed out, four people have been killed over the course of three weeks.
“These killings remain unsolved until now,” Vaflor asserted.
However, based on subsequent reports, the New People’s Army (NPA) claimed responsibility for the murders.
The TFK official also said the recent arrest warrants issued against Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo and her husband were brought up on “trumped up” charges.
The charges stemmed from two fragmentation grenades, other firearms, and illegal drugs recovered from Garcia-Yulo’s vehicle after Moises Padilla municipal police chief, then under Police Chief Inspector Alan Reloj, conducted a search at a police checkpoint last December.
Vaflor also claimed the unnamed mayor was behind the cases involving Senior Police Officer 1 Joshua Barile, who was the subject of a National Bureau of Investigation search last year that yielded several high-powered firearms; and former Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) director, Police Senior Superintendent William Señoron, who was sacked on alleged links to illegal drugs.
Like the Garcia-Yulo case, he claims the issues were also brought up on “trumped up” charges.
Vaflor said animosity between the mayor in question and the NPA puts “the people of Isabela and Moises Padilla in the crossfire.”
Last week, Isabela Mayor Joselito Malabor blamed the recent violence on Moises Padilla Mayor Magdaleno Peña, claiming the killings are taking place due to tensions between the mayor and the rebel group./DGB, WDJ