‘NPA commander’ owns up to capitol man’s killing

By LITO RULONA
Correspondent

A MAN claiming to be with the New People’s Army (NPA) has owned the responsibility for the shooting death of the capitol’s barangay affairs pointman for Sugbongcogon, Misamis Oriental, on Wednesday evening.

Over Magnum Radio, the man who identified himself as “Commander Dahon” said he gave out the order to liquidate 37-year old Rey Quilam, a former barangay chairman of Ampiyanga, Sugbongcogon.

Dahon, who claimed to be the leader of an NPA group operating in eastern Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon, said he ordered a nine-man rebel team to kill Quilam because he was allegedly spying for the military. He alleged that it was Quilam who pointed to the military their rebel base in Sugbongcogon.

He said the subsequent military offensive resulted to the killing of his son and wounding of several others last year. “Tungod sa iyang gibuhat, dako ang iyang sala ngadto sa sundalo sa katawhan. Ang silot nga gipahamtang kaniya mao ang silot kamatayon,” Dahon said.

Sugbongcogon police chief Senior Insp. Hugo Lacapang said he received information that rebels were responsible for the killing of Quilam but he stressed out that this was still being validated by investigators.

Lacapang said the Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco) found empty shells at the crime scene and have sent these to a crime laboratory for examination.

Witnesses said Quilam was attacked some 400 meters from his house––the assailants shot and stabbed him––on Wednesday night.

Lacapang said the suspects were not familiar to witnesses and even Quilam’s family members. “Maglisod sila og tudlo tungod kay mga bag-o og mga panagway ilang nakita didto.”

He said he has asked the provincial police office to help in the prusuit operations.  The capitol has also directed the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) to conduct an investigation in coordination with the police even as it offered a still unspecified amount of money as bounty against Quilam’s killers.

It was the second time for a pointman of the capitol’s Office of Barangay Affairs (OBA) to be killed. The first was Gingoog politician Marc Bagaipo last year.