By BEN SERRANO
Correspondent
BUTUAN City–The Magahat Group, the principal suspect in a string of lumad killings, has allegedly killed another indigene.
This time, the group allegedly killed 23-year old lumad Orlando Rabuca, married and resident of Sitio Hagimitan, Barangay Bulho-on, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur early dawn of Nov. 12.
The Magahat suspected Rabuca of being a New People’s Army supporter and informant, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur Mayor Alvaro Elizalde told the Gold Star Daily yesterday.
However, Elizalde said Rabuca is school watchman of Bulho-on Elementary School getting his salary as a watchman from LGU-San Miguel’s school board funds with a monthly honorarium of P2 thousand.
“Ï pity the victim. The P2,000-monthly honorarium the municipal government was paying him as school watchman was not even enough for him much more to his family,” Elizalde said.
Along with the town’s chief of police and some members of the military, Elizalde said they were the first to respond in the area where Rabuca was shot dead by an estimated 30 armed Magahats wearing military camouflage.
Based on the CCTV footages of the town and accounts of witnesses, the Magahats boarded two Starex vans (color white with streaks of a combination of colors) arrived at Barangay Bulho-on around 4 am on Thursday, Nov. 12.
Elizalde said armed men gathered the people in Bulho-on and warned them that they would suffer the same fate as Rabuca if they support the NPA. Then, at point blank range, they shot Rabuca in the head. Rabuca died on the spot before stunned villagers.
The suspects then left a letter of warning to the residents with the heading “Magahat Regional Command,” then fled aboard the vans.
Elizalde said he held an emergency meeting with the Army’s 2nd Special Forces officials headed by commanding officer Lt. Col. Gaspar Panopio about the incident.
“Ï told Lt. Col Panopio that since it is suspected that the military are the ones arming the Magahats, I told him that it will be the military to disarm the groups as it is again creating trouble in my town,” Elizalde said.
“I now realized Gov. Johnny Pimentel was right––the ones who are arming these Magahats are creating monsters they could no longer control,” added Elizalde.
But Panopio said the military is still investigating the killing of Rabuca, and no armed group claimed responsibility yet contrary to what Elizalde and the villagers said.
Panopo also said he did not see the letter supposedly left by the Magahats. Panopio reasoned that his group has just been deployed in Surigao del Sur, and his troops were part of the augmentation forces sent to Surigao del Sur.
“We just arrived here in Surigao del Sur from Bohol two weeks ago. We were sent here in Surigao del Sur by higher authorities to arrest three primary suspects in Sitio Han-ayan, Lianga, Surigao del Sur lumad killings, to protect the lumads, and identify and arrest the 20 armed John Does companions of loloy Tejero, Bobby Tejero and Layno,” Panopio said.
But when this paper called up Elizalde again to ask for a comment on Panopio’s claim that he did not know of or have seen the Magahats’ warning letter, the mayor insisted that there was a letter left by the Magahats.
“Our town’s chief of police got hold of that warning letter. It even had a logo and markings ‘Magahat Regional Command.’ I saw it,” Elizalde said.
He said the letter is now in the hands of the police, and witnesses have signed affidavits.
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