THERE has been a lot of finger-pointing in the latest massacre incident in Negros Occidental, this time between the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade and the rebel New People’s Army (NPA), so that it is next to impossible to ferret out the truth.
Found dead in their home in remote Sitio Kangkiling, Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City were Rolly Fausto, 52, and his wife Emilda, 49, as well as their sons Raben, 15, and Ben, 11. Their bodies bore gunshot wounds and were retrieved by disaster response personnel of the city. They were laid to rest at the Barangay Aguisan public cemetery on Sunday, June 18, amid calls for justice and an in-depth investigation of their gruesome deaths.
While Himamaylan Mayor Rogelio Raymund Tongson Jr. called for prayers for their eternal rest, the Police Regional Office-Western Visayas said “initial reports indicate the incident is part of the communist-terrorist group’s efforts to undermine the gains of the government’s programs to end the local communist armed conflict.”
‘Insurgency-related killings are hard to solve, however efficient the police forces may be, mainly because the insurgents operate outside mainstream society.’
Joining the chorus of condemnations of the killings were the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson who urged law enforcement authorities to “conduct an in-depth investigation into this horrible act.”
“The CHR strongly condemns the brutal killings,” the Commission said, noting there are allegations that the incident was insurgency-related and done by the communist rebels, but there is also an allegation linking it to the military. The CHR said all possible angles will be pursued in the course of its independent investigation.
The only available explanation for the tragedy came from a local media report naming the elder Fausto as a military asset who facilitated the surrender of his relatives who are members of the NPA.
But this was immediately denied by the NPA’s Apolinario Gatmaitan Command under the Negros Island Regional Operational Command which accused the 94th Infantry Battalion, a unit of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, of involvement in the Fausto family killings.
The Army countered that the “NPA in Negros is in a rampage against civilians suspected of military informants after recently suffering defeat in gun battle with soldiers in the hinterlands of Himamaylan City that claimed the lives of its key leaders.”
It cited the statement of the NPA Mt. Cansermon Command which admitted the so-called death penalty or summary execution of three city residents between April and June this year.
Insurgency-related killings are hard to solve, however efficient the police forces may be, mainly because the insurgents operate outside mainstream society. Precisely the reason the Marcos administration should endeavor to end the communist insurgency once and for all.
