Dreyfuss Perlas (Photo from Mr. Perlas’ LinkedIn page)
KAPATAGAN, Lanao del Norte – Police authorities in Lanao del Norte said they have started “conducting a thorough” verification of information that a breakaway communist rebel group could be behind the killing of volunteer physician, Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas, on March 1.
Senior Supt. Faro Antonio Olaguera, the Lanao del Norte police chief, said on Tuesday the military had told them that Agapito Tamparong Democer, alias Darwin, who was arrested for involvement in two previous murder cases, might have been one of the two suspects in Perlas’ killing.
Democer was a member of the Revolutionary Proletariat Army (RPA), a breakaway faction of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). He was killed in a shootout with lawmen on Saturday (Mar. 4).
But Olaguera said he wanted the information verified even as he said the police have included it as among the three possible leads being pursued in the Perlas killing.
“I have instructed my men on the ground to conduct a thorough investigation and validate before we jump into conclusion to avoid lapses in the process of information,” he said.
The military said Democer, who was the subject of a warrant of arrest for alleged involvement in the murder of two persons and the wounding of another, was killed during a shootout in Barangay Bagong Silang here on Saturday.
Lt. Col. Audie Mongao, the commander of the Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion, said Democer, an alleged gun-for-hire, was armed and he engaged the arresting soldiers in a brief firefight.
He described Democer as a communist rebel and that the latter might have mistaken Perlas for a military informant.
Perlas had joined medical missions the 15th Infantry Battalion had conducted in Lanao del Norte and was even a health retainer of another Army unit in the past, Mongao added.
But Harold Fernandez, the head of the National Operational Command of the Revolutionary Proletariat Army of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa – Mindanao (RPA-RPMM), said in a statement that Democer, also known as Ka Ruben, had never been a gun-for-hire.
Fernandez also said Democer was unarmed and was only trying to evade the approaching composite team of soldiers and police.
“His attempt to escape had been impossible considering the number of the enemies with high caliber arms. He was alone and only armed with a cellular phone because he was in the place to visit a family friend and the masses,” Fernandez said.
“He was an active political and military cadre of the RPA since it split way from the CPP-NPA-NDFP in the early 90’s,” Fernandez said, denouncing security forces for violating the truce between the government and his group.
The RPA had signed a bilateral ceasefire with the Arroyo administration.
Lanao del Norte Gov. Imelda Dimaporo, meanwhile, said Perlas’ killing was an isolated incident and did not reflect the peace and order situation in the province.
Even then, Dimaporo said she ordered Olaguera to give the case special treatment and to include the police chiefs of Kapatagan, Lala and Sapad in the investigating task force.
Dimaporo also announced that the initial reward offered for leads to the resolution of the case had been pegged at P100,000.
In Davao City, the Rx for Peace said while its members “cry justice for Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas and for other doctors killed while serving the undeserved communities” it also hoped that the incident would “inspire more doctors to work for the marginalized rather than cower in fear.”
“Let us take courage from those who offer their lives and at the same time resist impunity. Let us remain steadfast for we are for the people!,” the group said in a statement signed by Dr. Jean Lindo.
The statement said the country’s health situation has been dismal and more doctors should be deployed in the rural areas to fix it.
The group also urged the government to conduct a speedy investigation into the Perlas and not let it fade away unsolved such as the 2009 killing of government doctor Rogelio Peñera.
“The case remains unsolved,” the statement added. (With a report from Karlos Manlupig, Inquirer Mindanao INQ) SFM