NPAs kill councilor in Cagayan; cop dies in Bicol encounter

Municipal Councilor Angelo Luis of Baggao, Cagayan was gunned down by 20 alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) inside his private compound in Baragay Awallan, Baggao, Cagayan yesterday morning.

Chief Inspector Emil Pajarillo, chief of police of Baggao, told The Manila Bulletin that Luis died on the spot due to bullet wounds in the head.

Investigation revealed that victim was resting inside his nipa hut at 7:10 a.m. when about 20 armed guerrillas arrived and shot him with M16 and M14 rifles.

Police did not issue a statement on the motive in killing Luis, but the NPA’s Henry Abraham Command (HAC) later sent a letter to a local radio station to own up the murder.

The letter read on air, stated that the HAC “punished Luis as an enemy of the people,” citing his alleged spying for the Military Intelligence Group (MIG) in Region 2.

Meanwhile in Bicol, the Police Regional Office 5 (PRO5) reported the killing of a policeman in an encounter that broke out before dawn yesterday in Camarines Norte.

The PRO5 reported that Police Officer 2 Richard Abad was killed in action, along with 16 NPA guerrillas, during an encounter in Sitio Binuang, Barangay Daguit in the municipality of Labo.

Initial reports said that about 1 a.m. the nine-man team of police led by PO2 Rommel Orante just came from a three-day operation and were aboard two police patrol vehicles when they were ambushed by the rebels.

Six other police officers were wounded in battle and they were identified by the PRO5 as Police Officers 2 Ronald Gutierrez and Ericson De Vera; and PO1s Jeffrey Tarrobago, Pedro Valeros, Romar Umandap, and Johnson España, all assigned to the Camarines Norte Police Maneuver Force Company (CNPMFC).