NEWSBRIEFS
QUEZON
Farmer leader slain
A farmer organizer involved in relief work for typhoon victims was gunned down by still unidentified assailants in Candelaria, Quezon, on Wednesday, the militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said on Thursday.
KMP secretary general Antonio Flores said Hildegardo Hernandez, 48, a peasant activist from Pagkakaisa ng mga Magsasaka at Tagapagtaguyod sa Ikalawang Distrito ng Quezon (Pamatid-Quezon), was gunned down around 2 p.m. in Barangay Sta. Catalina.
The KMP official said Hernandez and Pamatid-Quezon members were busy preparing for relief operations for Typhoon “Glenda” victims when the shooting happened.
A report from Camp Nakar here said Hernandez was standing in front of a closed bakery when the gunman casually walked toward him, drew a gun and fired several shots. Hernandez died on the spot.
The assailant fled on foot toward Barangay Mangalang in nearby Sariaya, Quezon, the report said.
Police recovered bullet shells of a .45 cal. pistol.
Flores said the police report pointing to only one suspect was erroneous. He cited a Katipunan ng mga Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (Kasama-TK) report that quoted two witnesses as saying there were two assailants aboard a motorcycle. Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon
BAGUIO CITY
Rebel suspect nabbed
A suspected communist rebel leader was arrested by soldiers and policemen in Iloilo City this week, the Cordillera police reported.
The arresting team tracked down and arrested Eduardo Almores Esteban, said to be the secretary of the rebels’ Ilocos Cordillera regional committee, on Aug. 5.
Esteban carries a P5.8 million bounty on his head. He is now under the custody of the Cordillera police, according to Chief Supt. Isagani Nerez, the regional police director.
Esteban has arrest warrants issued by the regional trial court in Candon City in Ilocos Sur province for murder and frustrated murder charges. Inquirer Northern Luzon
