Negros Oriental police ask military for help as killings rise

THE Negros Oriental police have asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to help beef up security operations in their province as killings intensified in Guihulngan City.

On early Thursday morning, July 25, siblings Arthur and Ardale Bayawa were killed inside their house.

Arthur was the principal of the Special Science Class of Guihulngan National High School, while Ardale was the Curriculum Implementation Division chief of the Guihulngan City Division of the Department of Education.

About an hour later, around 1:45 a.m., Barangay Buenavista Chairman Romeo Alipa was shot dead inside his house by unidentified men.

He was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

The killings occurred two days after lawyer Anthony Trinidad was gunned down while driving his car in front of the Iglesia ni Cristo church in Guihulngan.

Trinidad, who hailed from Guihulngan, was driving home to San Carlos City from La Libertad, the town next to Guihulngan, where he had a court hearing.

His wife Novie Marie was wounded and is recuperating in a hospital in Dumaguete City.

Trinidad was the younger brother of Guihulngan City Councilor Ana Carla Trinidad-Villarmente.

Negros Oriental Police chief Colonel Raul Tacaca said they tapped the military in the area to boost police and military visibility, particularly in Guihulngan City.

He said they were investigating the possible involvement of the New People’s Army in the series of killings.

Tacaca said Negros Oriental is among the NPA-infested areas in the country. (SunStar Philippines)