|
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Family massacred; Army blames NPA
By Carlo P. Mallo and Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- A couple and their two kids were killed at past midnight Tuesday in the hinterland of Calinan, and the military is accusing the communist New People's Army (NPA) of being behind the crime.
Some residents, however, doubt if communist rebels were responsible and hinted at an ongoing vendetta involving the victims.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
The victims were identified as Fernando Gonzaga, 45, his wife Fe, 35, and their daughter Ritchel, 15, and son Ferdinand, 9. The four are residents of Isled in Barangay Dalagdag in Calinan.
Military reports said the rebels who killed the family were under Kumander Jaris of the Front Committee 52.
The victims reportedly angered the communist group over their refusal to give in to its extortion demands.
Initial investigations showed the couple and their children were killed with M14 and M16 armalite rifles.
Some neighbors of the victims, when interviewed, said they do not believe the rebels would kill children.
They said it was also unlikely for the rebels to kill the couple, adding that they know of no offense committed by the family against the communist NPA.
Juliana Homapas, a long-time resident and neighbor of the Gonzagas, said they heard gunshots at past midnight Tuesday but were afraid to go out and check.
They only learned of the massacre in the morning when a neighbor checked on the Gonzagas and found blood dripping through the wooden floor of the family's house.
The killing of the nine-year-old boy and the 15-year-old girl, who was described as having a mental handicap, is too brutish, the neighbors said.
A woman who asked not to be identified said that the rebels, if they had been behind the killing, would have spared the children.
She added that the family's poultry were also stolen and it was out of character for the rebels to do this.
She admitted that rebels regularly pass by their mountain barangay but they never ask for anything from residents.
Another resident, Adonis Jaboc, admitted that they have been living in fear since the son of tribal chieftain Datu Camid Lapindoy, identified as Christopher, was executed by musketry by the NPA last March 6.
It was reported that Christopher, 17, was seized by rebels from their house and executed after apparently being found guilty by a kangaroo court of rape. It was not clear who Christopher was alleged to have raped.
The residents said that at the height of the insurgency movement in the 1980s, when there was strong rebel presence in their mountains, they were never harassed or molested. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (April 11, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Military bombs rebels in Panabo City, residents held hostage