By Glazyl M. Jopson
BACOLOD CITY – The Roselyn Jean Pelle Command-New People’s Army (NPA) claimed responsibility for the killing of a farmer in Barangay Bagonbon, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, last Tuesday.
Ka Cecil Estrella, spokesperson for the rebel group, said the action was a “punitive measure” against the 51-year-old victim, whom they accused of being a serial rapist.
The group also alleged that the victim was a ringleader of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army (RPA) and a military intelligence asset.
“His punishment has long been demanded by the masses,” the group stated in a statement released Wednesday.
Police Major Ryan Villasario, deputy chief of the San Carlos City Police Station, said the victim was tending to his cow around 8 a.m. when unidentified armed men shot him.
The victim succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds. Authorities recovered a spent shell from a 5.56 mm firearm at the crime scene.
Villasario said the victim had no criminal record. Despite the NPA’s statement, he emphasized that investigators would continue to pursue the case based on evidence and witness accounts.
“It’s their claim and propaganda,” Villasario said, adding that the allegations alone would not be taken at face value.
