CONTRARY to his earlier pronouncement, Isabela Municipal Police Station Chief Major Joseph Partiday said Thursday, August 25, 2022, that members of the communist terrorist group (CTG) could be behind the killing of a barangay captain in the town on Wednesday.
Barangay Cabcab Captain Danilo Dautil, 61, succumbed to gunshot wounds on his nape and right portion of his chest near his armpit at the Isabela District Hospital a few minutes after he was shot by unidentified suspects.
Investigation showed that Dautil was riding his motorcycle on his way home from the town proper when at least two suspects came out from the sugarcane plantation beside the road, blocked his way and shot him at close range.
Partidas said that they were earlier looking at two angles. The killing could be politically motivated or it could be robbery since his bag was missing from the crime scene, he said.
The police said that as they dig deeper into the case, it became clearer that it is possible that Dautil was killed because of his active involvement against insurgency in the barangay.
Partidas noted that the victim has been active in promoting the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict program being carried out by the Philippine Army and Philippine National Police.
As of Thursday, the police were still trying to get information from Dautil’s daughter who happened to be riding a tricycle tailing behind his motorcycle when he was shot.
Partidas told SunStar Bacolod that they already have more than two persons of interest behind the killing.