By CESAR JOLITO III
The New People’s Army (NPA) has claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of a 44-year-old laborer at Barangay Manghanoy in Negros Occidental’s La Castellana town, an incident earlier reported by police as a shooting carried out by unidentified gunmen.
In a statement yesterday, the Leonardo Panaligan Command of the NPA’s Central Negros Guerrilla Front identified the victim as Rene Francisco, also known as “Gaga.”
The group alleged that Francisco was subjected to what it called a “death penalty” at 6:17 p.m. on Monday, January 5, accusing him of being involved in the illegal drug trade (drug pusher) and other criminal activities in Sitio Old Manghanoy.
The NPA further claimed that Francisco had been repeatedly warned to stop allegedly selling illegal drugs, which the group said had negatively affected residents, particularly the youth, farmers and farmworkers.
The statement also alleged that Francisco was an asset of the La Castellana police and claimed that a cellphone seized from him contained information of “intelligence value.”
Police, however, earlier reported that at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, the victim was with his cousin at a small fishpond when armed men suddenly emerged from a nearby sugarcane plantation and shot him several times with an undetermined caliber of firearm.
Witnesses told police that the assailants reportedly shouted, “Dugay ka na namon ginapangita,” before fleeing in an unknown direction.
The victim was rushed to the Rural Health Unit but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.
The La Castellana police launched a pursuit operation and continue to conduct an in-depth investigation to identify and arrest the perpetrators.
Authorities are also verifying the claims made by the NPA and determining the motive behind the killing.
Police officials reiterated their call for the public to cooperate with law enforcement by providing any information that could help in the resolution of the case, stressing that allegations made by armed groups remain subject to verification through proper investigation./CJ, WDJ