Military dares NPA to surrender comrades

BACOLOD CITY—The military has dared the communist insurgents to surrender their members who were involved in the ambush that killed nine persons and wounded nine others in a mountain village in La Castellana town, Negros Occidental.

“While the NPA took responsibility for the killing, they should bring those culprits from within their ranks to the courts of law,” said Maj. General Jose Mabanta, 3rd Infantry Division commander.

He pointed out that the government and the Filipino people want a justice system that is not served through killings.

The New People’s Army (NPAs) admitted responsibility to the ambush in Barangay Puso, La Castellana, early morning on Jan. 27, saying they didn’t plan to kill anyone but just to get the firearms of policemen, tanods and Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT).

JB Regalado of the NPA’s Leonardo Panaligan Command apologized to the families of civilians killed in the ambush and promised to impose disciplinary action against those who participated in the ambush including the head of the group.

But according to Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra, the ambush staged by the NPA was an “assault to human life.”

“As human beings, they should have respected life and spared the innocent civilians,” Navarra said.

“There was a clear violation of human rights there and that should not have happened. I vehemently condemn what happened,” he said.

Capt. Ryan Joseph Cayton, Army’s 3rd Infantry Division spokesman, said the NPA’s alibi was “another diversionary tactics to clear their name and escape from their guilt.”

He added the fact was they killed civilians, including those who pleaded for their lives.