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Friday, September 08, 2006
Bayan official slain in Bohol
By Mia E. Abellana
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A month after the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 was commended for the low number of political killings in Central Visayas, a militant leader was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle, while he was on his way to Danao, Bohol.
Victor Olayvar, 41, was on a motorcycle when he was shot at 7:25 a.m. yesterday in Barangay Cantubod, Danao, Bohol.
Danao is a hilly town 71 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City. Most of its residents are farmers.
Olayvar, a father of seven, is the vice chairman of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) in Central Visayas and chairman of the group in Bohol.
He is more popularly known in Bohol as the chairman of Hugpong sa mga Mag-uumang Bol-anon (Humabol), said Danao Police Chief Hipolito Cepedoza.
Militant leaders were quick to blame soldiers from the 302nd Brigade based in Carmen, Bohol for the shooting.
They said the attack came five days after the military, police and the local government of Bohol held a peace forum and assured militant groups that they condemned the killings of activists in Luzon.
Liza Sereño of Karapatan Bohol told radio dyLA yesterday that Olayvar was one of the six personalities the military was targeting.
She claimed that they got a copy of a hit list in June, which had the names of all the individuals the military is planning to kill in two weeks. She said this was part of the military’s “black propaganda” that includes tagging members of militant groups as communist rebels.
Sereño added that the attack came after a peace forum attended by Bohol Provincial Police Office Director Arturo Evangelista, 302nd Brigade Commander Col. Arthur Tabaquiero and Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado.
Evangelista, however, said it is too early to speculate that the military was behind the shooting. He said they still have to check what Olayvar was doing in Danao, when he is a resident of Panglao.
Insp. Cepedoza told Sun.Star Cebu that Olayvar spent the night in San Carlos town and was on his way to Poblacion, Danao.
When he reached a bridge in Cantubod, two men fired at him.
The motorcycle driver was unharmed and is undergoing tactical interrogation.
Militant leaders in Cebu condemned the killing and blamed Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, as chairperson of the Regional Peace and Order Council.
They said her declaration of an all-out war on insurgency targeted militant groups.
Like Sereño, they were emotional when they talked about their colleague, who left behind a wife and seven children.
Cepedoza said, though, that they are not closing in on one angle yet, as it is too early to dismiss other possibilities.
A military detachment, the 15th Infantry Battalion, is located in Barangay Sta. Fe, Danao, about three kilometers from where the attack occurred.
For his part, Central Command spokesperson Jefferson Omandam said they were not surprised that the military was blamed, but he urged militant leaders to wait for the investigation results before accusing them.
During his first visit here as PNP chief last month, Director General Oscar Calderon congratulated the PRO 7 for having the lowest number of political killings in the country.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 8, 2006 issue)
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