NPA disowns ambush, slay of Compostela Valley town mayor

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Communist rebels on Thursday disowned the ambush that killed Laak, Compostela Valley Mayor Reynaldo Navarro on Wednesday.

In an e-mail statement, Rigoberto Sanchez, New People’s Army (NPA) spokesperson for Southern Mindanao, said the rebel group even condemned the attack on Navarro.

“The NPA offers condolences to his family and colleagues,”  Sanchez said.

The rebel spokesperson said that  while the mayor, indeed, had been identified to be one of the “Big 4” involved in illegal logging in Agusan del Sur, Compostela Valley and Davao del Norte provinces, he was never on the rebels’ list of personalities marked for liquidation.

“The NPA has not considered him an enemy,” said Sanchez’s statement.

“Navarro’s track record did not make him a legitimate military target,” he said.

“Thus, no revolutionary punishment was executed against him,” Sanchez added.

He said the NPA recognized Navarro’s previous support for the insurgency, which was why all he got were warnings for him to stop his illegal logging activities.

“In the midst of these warnings, there are no strong grounds showing Navarro’s grave offenses against the revolutionary movement that would necessitate the maximum penalty of capital punishment,” Sanchez said.

Authorities earlier expressed belief that Navarro was killed by communist rebels. Reports from Allan Nawal and Orlando Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao