• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
As the New People’s Army (NPA) continues its liquidation activities against civilians accused as government informants in Negros, the Philippine Army vowed to continue focused military operations against them, a ranking official said on Saturday, May 23.
Brig. Gen. Jason Jumawan, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade, said “you have witnessed how the NPA has executed liquidations of individuals, including alleged informants or those thought to be linked with government forces.”
“We cannot allow these atrocities to persist and therefore, we must guarantee their safety from the terrors of the NPA,” he said.
Rebel remnants in northern Negros had claimed responsibility for the deaths of two more individuals in Calatrava, including Jemar Mahusay, 53, in Barangay Dolis on May 5, and Gerry Baitan, in Barangay Minautok on May 13.
Down south, NPA remnants claimed responsibility for the death of Joseph Agustin, a former member of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade, in Barangay Santol, Binalbagan on May 19.
Jumawan said they will continue to pursue rebel remnants behind the spate of killings without let-up.
Roger Fabillar Tapang, who was among the 19 NPA rebels killed in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso on April 19, was behind the killings of at least 36 civilians, farmers, laborers in northern Negros in the past year, according to the military.
Jumawan said that Vince Francis Dingding, who was admitted by the NPA as the secretary of its Southwest Front, and killed during the May 16 encounter in Cauayan, was among those behind at least 28 killings in southern Negros.
He revealed that Dingding, an alumnus of University of the Philippines-Cebu, had been in the rebel movement since 2017 and assigned in southern Negros.
Being among the core group of NPA policy makers in southern Negros, the slain rebel leader was among those who made the decision on who will be liquidated and which heavy equipment will be burned.
Due to their dwindling numbers, the Army general said the NPA Southeast and Southwest Fronts in Negros have merged, with five members recently killed in a clash in Cauayan. | GB
