Ex-rebel’s body dug up by Army

MANILA, Philippines–The Army has exhumed the body of a former communist rebel who was allegedly abducted and summarily executed by his comrades two months ago in Davao Oriental.

In a report, the Army said that the body of Celso Villarin, alias Botyok/Dante, a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) Front 18, was found in a grave about 7 a.m. yesterday at Sitio (settlement) Sigang in the town of Lupon.

Villarin surrendered to the Army’s 28th Infantry Battalion (28IB) in 2012 and was among those who was admitted to the government’s Comprehensive Local Integration Program.

According to the report, Villarin had been living a normal and peaceful life until he was snatched by armed men on the night of Nov. 20, 2014, from his home in Sitio Calasagan, Lupon. His mother, Elena Piogo, was able to recognize the armed men as Sergio Catampao alias Baytol; Danilo Cila alias Pakat; Ryan Pitao alias Edoy and two others identified only as alias Jemai and alias Tomas.

The mother said the men who took her son were all known to her personally as Villarin’s former colleagues in the NPA.

Villarin’s family and relatives immediately reported the incident and sought the assistance of local authorities to locate Villarin but to no avail.

In the morning of Jan. 25, 2015, a concerned villager and former “masa” (a term used to refer to a member of the NPA underground mass organization) in Sitio Sigang, told troops under the 28IB the location of a grave where a body was buried. The villager also claimed to have witnessed the murder of Villarin by the NPA armed men.

Acting on the information, a team of soldiers and police, with village officials and members of the local media, proceeded to the grave site. After prayers led by a local pastor, the remains were exhumed.

The Army said that the immediate family of the victim identified the cadaver to be that of Villarin based on the clothes he was wearing when he was abducted. The remains were brought yesterday to the Patalinghug Funeral Parlor in Lupon.–Cynthia D. Balana