BACOLOD CITY (PNA) – The Philippine Army 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde) vowed to seek justice for the death of four members of the Fausto family in Negros Occidental as it dismissed the claims of the Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) linking government troops to the gruesome killing in Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City on Wednesday night, June 14.
Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd IBde, said on Friday, June 16, that the military would “spare no effort” to pursue justice for the victims and their families.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the brutal killing of (an) innocent family in Himamaylan City. As your defenders, we will closely coordinate with the Philippine National Police to fast-track the resolution of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice,” Edralin said in a statement.
Found dead at their home in remote Sitio Kangkiling were Rolly Fausto, 52, and his wife Emilda, 49, as well as their sons Ben, 11, and Raben, 15.
Their bodies, which sustained bullet wounds, were retrieved by disaster response personnel and brought to a funeral home in the city proper on Thursday afternoon, June 15.
The Himamaylan City Police Station considered the crime as insurgency-related, based on the initial investigation.
According to the 303IBde, the allegations against the government troops are “nothing but an attempt by the desperate NPA to tarnish the reputation of the Army in the province.”
“These communist terrorists quickly blame the Army without proof to mislead the people and to hide their guilty hands,” it added.
In a statement released to the media here, the NPA-Apolinario Gatmaitan Command under the Negros Island Regional Operational Command accused the 94th Infantry Battalion (IB), a unit of the 303rd IBde, of involvement in the Fausto family killing.
On Thursday night, the 94th IB said “the NPA in Negros is in a rampage against civilians suspected as military informants” after recently “suffering defeats in gun battles with soldiers in the hinterlands of Himamaylan City that claimed the lives of its key leaders.”
It cited the statement of the Mount Cansermon Command admitting the so-called death penalty and summary execution of three residents of Himamaylan City between April and June this year.
“The 303IBde condemns the NPA for killing innocent civilians on mere suspicions of being military informants. (It) strongly denies the claims that the three slain civilians were military spies,” the 94th IB added.