REWARD OFFER. Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines (right photo), commanding officer of the Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion, condoles with the wife of the late barangay chairperson Benjamin Javoc at their residence in Lalong village in Calatrava, Negros Occidental on Aug. 26, 2022. A PHP100,000 bounty has been raised for the arrest of the main suspect communist-terrorist Arnel Tapang (left photo). (Images courtesy of 79th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army)
BACOLOD CITY – The Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) has offered a bounty of PHP100,000 to anyone who can provide vital information that would lead to the arrest of the primary suspect in the murder of barangay chairperson Benjamin Javoc of the remote Lalong village in Calatrava, Negros Occidental.
Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, commanding officer of the 79IB, said on Tuesday they believe that the 54-year-old village chief was killed by communist-terrorist Arnel Tapang, who carries out special operations for the remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front of the New People’s Army (NPA).
“We are offering a reward of PHP100,000. This is from the donations and pledges of our stakeholders. I’m planning to raise it to PHP300,000 or maybe PHP500,000 purposely for Tapang alone,” Javines said in a telephone interview.
He said that witnesses saw Tapang enter the residence of the Javoc family during the shooting that claimed the village chief’s life early morning on Aug. 26.
“We showed them his pictures and they were able to identify him,” he added.
Javines said Tapang is also the perpetrator in the previous slayings in Calatrava and Toboso towns, where the suspect’s relatives are also staying.
“It’s difficult to arrest him in these areas because no one will provide information about his whereabouts,” he added.
The Army official said he visited the Javoc family on the day of the fatal shooting and deployed troops to secure the area.
“Our operations in Calatrava continue. Until now, our troops are still there. We will not stop until Tapang is arrested,” he added.
In a separate interview, Lt. Judesses Catalogo, public information officer of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, said on Tuesday that the Calatrava Municipal Police Station has already obtained affidavits from at least three witnesses, including Javoc’s wife, for the filing of the case against the suspects.
“We’re hoping to file the case this week,” he added.
At around 4:30 a.m. last Friday, at least 10 unidentified men arrived at the Javoc residence and gunned down the village chief outside his home, police investigation showed.
It has been alleged that the assailants ransacked the victim’s house and took some of his personal belongings and PHP20,000 cash, it added.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), with its armed wing, the NPA, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The National Democratic Front has also been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973. (PNA)
