By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD CITY — A 37-year-old person with a disability (PWD) was fatally shot last Thursday, marking the eighth murder attributed to the New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros Occidental since April.
Ka JB Regalado, spokesperson for the Leonardo Panaligan Command-NPA Central Negros Guerrilla Front, stated the victim was targeted due to allegations stemming from a previous rape case.
Despite attempts to address the issue with the victim from 2012 to 2014, the efforts failed.
Police Major Sherwin Fernandez, town police chief, reported that the victim, who was partially blind, was ambushed by three unidentified assailants as he was headed to his sister’s house in Barangay Puso.
He was shot in the head and died at the scene where police later recovered 5.56mm and .45 caliber bullets.
Fernandez noted that, according to information received, the victim had allegedly attempted to sexually abuse a minor and later completed the act.
The incident reportedly occurred in 2012 but was not officially recorded with the police.
Further highlighting the violence in the region, Fernandez mentioned that another civilian was killed by the NPA on April 11 in Barangay Cabagnaan.
Despite the NPA’s admission, Fernandez emphasized that the investigation will continue to identify those within the group responsible for these killings.
Additional incidents attributed to the rebel group have been reported in the towns of Binalbagan, Calatrava, and Moises Padilla, and the cities of Kabankalan and Sipalay.
