DSWD hits village attack in Bukidnon
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday denounced the attack in Bukidnon over the weekend that killed a pregnant woman and injured eight others.
The suspect, Butsoy Salusad, has also been linked to the killing of Dao barangay captain Jimmy Liguyon in 2012 and other community leaders over the years, according to the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines–Northern Mindanao.
Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo in a statement said that based on their field report, Salusad, a tribal leader, was one of the beneficiaries of the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan–Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services–National Community Driven Development (Kalahi CIDSS-NCDDP) in 2016.
“We now have to wonder if the warrant against Salusad for the murder of barangay captain Liguyon still stands. The field workers of DSWD Region X were able to meet him, interview him, take pictures of him wearing a camouflage uniform and sporting an ammo pouch; why can’t the local police authorities find him and serve warrant?” Taguiwalo said.
She implicated Salusad in an incident during a wedding celebration last Saturday in the Tigwahanon community of Sitio Tibugawan in Barangay Kawayan, San Fernando, saying a paramilitary group he led positioned themselves on top of the hill and fired at the community.
News reports said Makinit Gayoran, a pregnant woman, was killed by a bullet on her chest. Seven others, including three teenagers and two children with ages 7 and 8, were wounded.
Article continues after this advertisement“This is our stand: Commander Butsoy is implicated in this recent attack. We have confirmed through a separate report prepared and released also by the DSWD Field Office X only in April 2016 that Salusad is one of the leaders of a community that is the beneficiary of a proposed three-classroom school building project that is being constructed through the Kalahi-CIDSS-NCDDP. The project is in Sitio Kiranggol, Barangay Dao, San Fernando, Bukidnon,” she said.
Taguiwalo said she would demand an explanation from DSWD personnel how Salusad became a beneficiary despite being involved in a crime in 2012.
