Monday, March 17, 2008 NPA suspects in bizmen killings charged
THE ad hoc body of the Philippine National Police (PNP) investigating unexplained killings in the country has filed murder cases against 13 suspects involved in the separate killings of two businessmen, who were reportedly executed for their alleged failure to agree to pay "revolutionary taxes" to communist leaders in Masbate, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.
DILG Assistant Secretary Danilo Valero said as of the first week of March this year, Task Force Usig has also revived two murder cases, one against Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) founder Jose Ma. Sison, involving the killings of political activists that were earlier classified as "cold cases."
"Cold cases" refer to cases without any development or progress in the investigations for more than a year.
Valero said in a report by Police Director Jefferson Soriano, who is task force commander, this panel filed two separate cases of murder before the Masbate Provincial Prosecutor's Office against 13 suspects and several other still unidentified people for the killings of businessmen Virgilio Baginbin last February 26 and Leonardo Narido last February 27 in Esperanza, Masbate.
Task Force Usig said the modus operandi applied by the suspects in the summary killings of the two businessmen were "practically identical" as both were first handcuffed and then forcibly dragged in their respective places of execution.
Investigation showed that the primary motive behind the killings was "the failure to accede to the communist group's extortion activities, said Soriano.
Task Force Usig identified the suspects in these killings as Dindo Mosanto, Jerry Mahinan, Allan Bulan, Sonny Tamayo, Luding Tulingin, Bienvenido Tuing, Berot Bultro, Marlon Dumagan, Duarding Nunez, Joel Certifi, Juanito Tamayo, Bordek Reyes and Danilo Mendoza.
In Cagayan, Soriano said the PNP reinvestigated and refiled last month a case for murder against Sison along with Saturnino Agunoy and Sonny Pajarillo for the killing of Joey Javier two years ago.
In Mindoro Occidental, the regional team of Task Force Usig revived a cold case involving the murder of Adrian Soriano in 2004, who was suspected to have been killed by certain Rex Berco and a still unidentified person. However, further investigation showed that certain Renaldo Isidro also killed Berco in 2005 in Mindoro Occidental.
The task force has filed cases against many of the suspects in the slaying of 141 political activists and journalists verified by the task force, which is headed by Soriano.
Valero noted that 17 of the suspects in these cases could be soldiers, policemen or militiamen, indicating that "Task Force Usig has left no stone unturned in its efforts to get to the bottom of these murders and put their perpetrators behind bars."
He noted that Task Force Usig has thus far handled 141 cases comprising the slayings of 113 party-list members and other political activists and 28 media practitioners.
As for the 28 media killings since 2001, he disclosed that 22 cases have already been filed in court, two others are under investigation, and four more are considered cold cases. (Press release)
