• THERESA MAE DULMAN
The New People’s Army (NPA) Northern Negros Guerrilla Front has denied involvement in the Aug. 23 fatal shooting of a man in Sitio Panggiasgiasan, Barangay Lalong, Calatrava in Negros Occidental.
Ka Cecil Estrella, spokesperson for the NPA’s Roselyn Jean Pelle Command, said Aug. 30 that no complaints had been filed against Jundel “Jundy” Barayarcal, 50, before their revolutionary court.
“His death is not insurgency related,” Estrella said in a statement.
The NPA criticized the Calatrava Municipal Police Station for prematurely attributing the crime to the communist rebels.
Estrella said these baseless claims were intended to cover up a lack of progress in the investigation.
The police reported that Barayarcal was shot dead a few meters from his residence by three unidentified suspects.
Estrella said the NPA takes public responsibility whenever it carries out executions against individuals proven to have committed severe offenses against their movement.
The rebel group has launched a parallel investigation into Barayarcal’s death, he added.
He called on residents and the victim’s family to coordinate with nearby guerrilla units and share information that could aid in resolving the case. | TMD
