Kin of ex-rebel killed in Cotabato cry for justice

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Relatives of a former guerilla shot dead on Friday in M'lang, North Cotabato cried justice for his death.

They told authorities the killing of Herminio "Dodo" Autillo could be election-related as he was a staunch critic of some politicians running in different local positions in M'lang town.

The relatives, who requested anonymity for security reasons, hinted Autillo could be a victim of a military operation because of his previous connections with the New Peoples’ Army (NPA).

Autillo was having a haircut inside his compound in Barangay New Janiuay in M'lang when two unidentified motorcycle-riding men approached him and pumped bullets in his head, Friday.

He died on the spot, reports from the M'lang police said.

The Valentine Palamine Command of the NPA Front 72 has also condemned Autillo's murder.

Rebel spokesman Dencio Madrigal, in a statement, has also expressed belief Autillo could be a victim of extra-judicial killing.

Madrigal said Autillo was once an active member of the rebel movement operating in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur.

But he left the group, according to Madrigal, a decade ago.

The rebel spokesman, citing witnesses' account, said that some military agents in M'lang town had been following the victim weeks before the killing.

"It was long ago that Autillo had left the NPA. Yet, he remained a military target and has been constantly under surveillance,” said Madrigal in a statement.

For Madrigal, "the extra-judicial killing is the state's appalling ploy to silence the revolutionaries, the mass activists they suspected as sympathizers or supporters of the revolutionary movement, and including government critics by sowing terror and creating turbulence."