By Minerva Newman
CEBU CITY— Members of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) assassination squad killed an off-duty CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAA) member in Linantuyan, Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, Sunday.
Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Central Command (Centcom) acting spokesman Maj. Abel Potutan identified in a media release to Manila Bulletin the militiaman as Joseph Gabia, a resident of Linantuyan.
Potutan said Gabia was on his way back to his patrol base in Linantuyan after settling a family problem when he was killed by an NPA Special Partisan Unit (Sparu) team.
The Sparu killed 19 people in Guihulngan alone in 2018, Pototan said.
It also acts as the private army of NPA-supported political bets and resort to coercion to intimidate the bets’ rivals, Potutan added.
Lt. Gen. Noel Clement, Centcom commander, condemned the killing of Gabia and vowed to put a stop to the spate of NPA killings in Negros.
“We decry the terroristic acts and brutality of the NPA bandits. Guihulngan town has been covered with fear since these terrorists lord over the lives of the people through Sparu operations,” Clement said.
Clement said that last Dec 27, the government launched the one time serving of 97 search warrants and arrested 27 armed personalities, killed seven others alleged to be NPA members.
Clement said the military will step up the pursuit of the killers of the militiaman.