Mayor Reynaldo Navarro of Laak, Compostela Valley. SCREENGRAB from ecomval.gov.ph
DAVAO CITY – Communist rebels disowned Thursday the ambush in which Mayor Reynaldo Navarro of Laak, Compostela Valley, was killed.
In a statement e-mailed to news media offices, Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesperson of the New People’s Army in Southern Mindanao, actually condemned the killing.
The NPA “offers condolences with his family and colleagues in Laak, Compostela Valley,” Sanchez said.
The rebel spokesperson said that even if the slain mayor had been identified among the “Big 4” illegal logging groups that operate in the tri-boundaries of Agusan del Sur, Compostela Valley and Davao del Norte, he never was considered a target for liquidation.
He said the NPA still recognized Navarro’s previous support for the insurgency, which was why all he got were warnings for him to stop his illegal logging activities.
Earlier, the authorities, including the military, said they suspected that the ambush was perpetrated by the NPA.
However, Sanchez said the authorities were obviously trying to agitate Navarro’s supporters.
“The masses in Laak should see to this latest anti-people machination and must struggle against fascism,” he said.
Navarro was on his way to Tagum City when his vehicle was fired at in Barangay Sagayen in Asuncion, Davao del Norte.
His escorts managed to kill two of the assailants, whose identities have not been established yet.
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