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Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Police: No suspect yet on Adeva's killing
By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan
SILAY City Police Office is still facing a blank wall on the identities of the suspects and their motive in killing Rico Adeva, a community organizer of Task Force Mapalad (TFM) in Silay and Talisay cities last Saturday.
Provincial Police Director Charles Calima Jr. admitted Mondaythat they don't have any lead yet on the killing of Adeva.
Calima, however, said he is currently communicating with the TF Mapalad officials to unearth the possible angles in their member's assassination.
Adeva, 39, of Hacienda del Fuego II, Barangay Bagtic, Silay City was gunned down by three unidentified persons at Imbang River, Barangay Bagtic at around 4:30 p.m.
The victim was with his wife, Nenita, at the time of the incident.
Nenita said they've just come from Barangay Dos Hermanas, Talisay City and was on their way home when the attack occurred.
Edna Sobrecaray, TF Mapalad national spokesperson, in their press statement, placed the blame on the anti-Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) forces in Negros, allegedly led and financed by big landowners, for the death of Adeva.
"The killing of Adeva is a signal that the anti-CARP forces will actively sabotage the current campaign of Negros farmers' for a Carp Express, in which landholdings 100 hectares and above will become the focus of land acquisition and distribution within the next two years. In Negros Occidental alone, the CARP Express targets the distribution of some 22,000 hectares in 80 haciendas. Adeva was killed because he was active in this campaign," she said.
TF Mapalad is a federation of more than 300 farmers' organizations in Negros and Mindanao.
"We have every reason to believe, without a shadow of doubt, that the brutal and cold-blooded murder of Rico Adeva, who is one of our finest leader-organizer, was the work of anti-CARP forces led by landowners in Negros who are intensely opposed to CARP," added Sobrecaray.
Nenita recalled that the suspects ordered his husband to turn on his back and drop down, but as Adeva did so, one of the suspects shot him in the head.
She said another suspect also started shooting Adeva, who was already down on the ground, while the third suspect aimed a gun at her and told her to drop down.
After the shooting, Nenita said the suspects rummaged through Adeva's pockets and took his money amounting to P200, but they did not find his wallet as it was left at home.
The suspect told Nenita to stay put as they fled on foot toward the rice field.
TF Mapalad said Adeva sustained at least 10 gunshot wounds -four in the head and one each in the stomach, right chest, beside the mouth, under the left ear, waist, and the hand.
Ten empty shells of caliber.45 were recovered at the scene of the crime.
The couple's neighbors said a week before the incident strangers had come to the area and had been asking about Adeva.
They said they did not give any meaning to it because many people, whom they assume to be farmer-beneficiaries, often come to ask for Adeva.
They also said they had noticed a group of men camp out in the rice field portion of the hilly area before the incident.
They said the suspects were not from the area since they spoke Cebuano, boosting suspicion that they were hired specifically to kill Adeva.
Sobrecaray added, "We ask the Department of Agriculture (DAR) to hasten the land acquisition and distribution (LAD) component of Carp, especially in Negros Occidental, because the big landowners will intensify their opposition to Carp, especially since the remaining LAD balance involves elite landholdings of more than 100 hectares. Unless LAD is hastened, the farmers will be vulnerable to landowner reprisal."
(April 18, 2006 issue)
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