BACOLOD CITY -- The local police and the Philippine Army have assured that they will bring to justice the perpetrators behind the brutal killing of a couple and their two sons in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.
BRIG. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of Army 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde), in a recent media interview in Bacolod City. (Glazyl Masculino)
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The Fausto couple – Rolly, 52, and Emilda, 49 – and their two sons aged 11 and 15 were shot dead by unidentified assailants at their residence in Sitio Kangkiling in Barangay Buenavista on Wednesday night.
Earlier, the Himamaylan City Police Station said they are looking into the incident as insurgency-related since the victims reportedly had relatives who are active members of the New People’s Army (NPA).
However, the Apolinario Gatmaitan Command (AGC) Negros Island Regional Operational Command-NPA slammed the Army for the massacre.
“From combatant to official, they pursue the people to become victims in their scripted drama wherein they will surely be hailed as heroes,” said Ka Maoche Legislador, spokesperson of the AGC-NPA, in a statement dated June 15.
The 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde) denied the accusations, saying that these baseless accusations are nothing but an attempt by the "desperate" NPAs to tarnish the reputation of the Army in the province.
“Pointing their dirty finger at the Army is part of the rebel group’s deceptive tactic to cover up the truth,” according to Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, 303rd IBde commander, in a statement.
Edralin said the NPA rebels quickly blamed the Army without proof to mislead the people and to hide their guilty hands.
The Army assured the public that they are committed to uncovering the truth behind the horrific incident and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
“We will spare no effort in pursuing justice for the victims and their families,” Edralin said as he assured the Negrenses that the 303rd IBde remains committed to upholding its duty to protect the people of Negros Island.
The Army extended their deepest condolences to the grieving family, and at the same time, condemned the brutal killings of the Faustos in the strongest possible terms.
Meanwhile, in a statement released to the media on Friday, June 16, the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Western Visayas, said that they will utilize all its resources to effectively neutralize any and all threats to the safety, security, and welfare of the people of Himamaylan City and the rest of Western Visayas.
The PRO-Western Visayas cited an initial report that the incident was part of the efforts of the NPA to undermine the gains of the government's programs to End Local Communist and Armed Conflict.
With the series of losses and debacles of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-National Democratic Front (NDF)-NPA organization in Negros Island, they resort to senseless acts of violence to deter the people and the communities from working with the government and the state security forces, the PRO-Western Visayas said in a statement.
The regional police are asking the people of Himamaylan City to cooperate with the local police in the conduct of the investigation on the brutal killing of the family.
The quest for justice is always a shared responsibility between the police and the community, the PRO-Western Visayas said, as they strongly condemned the senseless acts of violence and terrorism against innocent civilians.
The PRO-Western Visayas said that it will continue to work with the people of Negros Island in building a culture of peace by putting an end to the impunity and lawlessness perpetrated by criminals and by the NPA rebels.