SECURITY MEETING. Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, PRO-7 regional director, meets with Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) officials, headed by provincial police director Col. Raul Tacaca, town police chiefs and other police unit heads on Sunday (July 28, 2019), to discuss the spate of shootings in the province. A total of 14 people were killed in separate shooting incidents in various parts of the province in just a span of seven days. (Photo by Judy Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY - A total of 16 people were killed in separate shooting incidents in various parts of Negros Oriental in just a span of seven days.
As of July 29, records at the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) said the separate shooting incidents since July 23 were reported in Canlaon City, Guihulngan City, Ayungon, Dumaguete City, Zamboanguita, and Siaton.
The victims in Guihulngan City were human rights lawyer Anthony Trinidad, Barangay Buenavista chairman Romeo Alipan, Arthur Cordevilla Bayawa and his sister Ardale Cordevilla Bayawa, both Department of Education (DepEd) employees.
In Canlaon City, the fatalities included City Councilor Ramon Jalandoni, Barangay Panubigan chairman Ernesto Posadas, and a civilian, Anaciancino Rosalita.
Those killed in Ayungon were former Mayor Edsel Enardecido, his cousin Leo Enardecido, and Reden A. Eleuterio, a civilian.
Two persons were gunned down in Siaton, namely, Ricky Calabroso Astorias and Federico Sabejon, while an eight-year old girl was wounded during the shooting of Sabejon.
In Sta. Catalina, shot dead were Marlon Ocampo and his one-year-old child, Marjun, while his live-in partner, Angel Miranda was wounded.
Wendy Encilay Alegre was killed in Zamboanguita town while one person was also killed in a shooting incident in Dumaguete City, identified as Yngwie Malmstein Barredo Fabugais.
Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, regional director of the Police Regional Office 7 (PRO-7) in a press conference late Sunday afternoon here, disclosed that only three cases are so far linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) based on investigation and pieces of evidence gathered.
Sinas cautioned against immediately coming up with a conclusion that these shooting incidents are perpetrated by the NPA, considering that even though there may be indications of their purported involvement, there must be “concrete evidence” to support the allegation.
There are also different possible angles or motives that police investigators are looking into such as business, land dispute, or personal in nature.
There could also be criminals who want to make it appear that the NPA is to blame for the incidents, Sinas said.
Already, the police have identified three persons of interest in three cases, but no other details were divulged to avoid compromising the investigation.
Sinas said that composite sketches of the persons of interests are already available for distribution to security forces and later, to the public.
He assured that the police leadership is “on top of the situation” and that they are doing their best to investigate the cases while also employing stricter measures to ensure the safety and security of the public.
Also, he emphasized that even if the suspects are NPA members, the police would be treating them and filing cases against them as “criminals” and not as rebels.
Meanwhile, Governor Roel Degamo reiterated what he had said over the weekend that these are “isolated” cases, the killings are not “alarming” and these crime incidents certainly do not have an impact on the economy, tourism, and other sectors in the community.
Degamo condemned the killings in “the strongest possible terms” and called for an end to all these.
“Insakto na, sobra na (Enough. It’s too much),” he said earlier at a press conference Saturday morning.
The governor said he has asked the provincial and regional police offices to exert all efforts to dig deeper into these crimes “to conduct thorough and in-depth investigation of the cases involving guns-for-hire in the province”.
Degamo issued a strong message to the perpetrators that whoever they are, they will be dealt with the full force of the law.
He called on the support and cooperation of the local government units, the churches, the different sectors and the entire community because “nagkinahanglan kami sa inyong tinuoray nga pagpakabana (we need your genuine concern) and this is a big challenge for all of us to protect our freedom and enjoy peace”.
“Let us allow the rule of law to prevail in our province and I pray that God will protect us from the dangers and threats of the devil,” Degamo said. (PNA)
