12 suspected rebels charged over killings of 4 ‘informants’ in Guihulngan

DUMAGUETE CITY — At least 12 persons are facing charges concerning the murder of four “informants” in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.

Tecson said they are conducting follow-up operations to arrest the suspects who were charged with murder.

“We will not identify them for now because they might run and hide. What is important is we already identified them,” he said.

Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo, director of the Central Visayas police, condemned the killings of four government informants and instructed the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office to deepen their investigation.

“What was done to the victims was inhumane,” he said.

“I hope what happened would serve as a lesson to those who want to join the communist group that what you are doing would not do any good. Please return to the fold of the law so you will live peacefully and without fear and anxiety,” he added.

Authorities identified the fatalities in the May 14 attack as Ronelo Quirante, 56; Roger Fat, 46; and couple Rodrigo Lubay and his wife Celerina, aged 46 and 44.

The victims, according to the police, were former members of the NPA.

In an earlier statement, Guihulngan Mayor Carlo Jorge Joan Reyes said the victims may have been assassinated on suspicion of tipping off government troops that led to an encounter in the same place last March 23, when at least 10 rebels were killed.

Police reports stated that the victims were killed by armed men who stormed their houses and shot them multiple times using high-powered firearms, including an M16 rifle, around 5 a.m. last Friday.

The attack was the third incident involving the NPA in Barangay Trinidad this year.

Aside from the encounter last March, another clash between suspected rebels and government troops also occurred last January when the firefight lasted for more than 18 hours.

LZB