Barangay councilor killed in Bukidnon by alleged NPA

October 10, 2017

A barangay councilor was killed while several heavy equipment were burned in a separate attack made by alleged member of New People’s Army (NPA) in the province of Bukidnon last Sunday, a military spokesman said Tuesday.

Capt. Norman Tagros, Army’s 403rd Infantry Brigade civil military operations officer, did not give  more details on the incident but he said barangay councilor Romeo Bantilan, Jr. was killed in Sitio Hindangan, Brgy. White Kulaman, Kitaotao around 6 am.

Tagros said the victim “was shot to death by a certain alias Aman of Guerilla Front 53 of the NPA's Southern Mindanao Regional Committee using an AK-47 rifle with five other armed men who acted as lookouts.”

“Accordingly, several days prior to the incident, Councilor Bantilan was being forced by the NPA to leave the area and vacate his home for unknown reasons,” he said.

“The victim suffered five gunshot wounds in the different parts of his body which caused his instantaneous death,” he added.

At around 5 pm of the same day, around 70 alleged members of the New People's Army attacked the Davao Agricultural Ventures Corporation (DAVCO) compound in Sitio Rang-ay, Brgy. Merangeran, Quezon, Bukidnon.

“The attackers were able to enter the compound and hastily burn one boom spray tractor, one boom harvester, two nurse trucks and one generator sets while stealing three shotguns and one cal. 9mm pistol from the security guards,” Tagros said.

He said troops from the 8th Infantry Battalion and 1st Special Forces Battalion, who responded to the incident, also discovered a burnt boom truck while conducting pursuit operations along the bandits' withdrawal route near Brgy. Lumintao of Quezon town.

“The truck is believed to have been used by the bandits as they fled from the DAVCO compound,” he added.

Tagros said during the conduct of pursuit operation the troops of the 8th Infantry Battalion, together with the personnel of Quezon Municipal Police Station, also apprehended a certain Angelica Regasajo alias Jake, a medic of Guerilla Front 6 of the NPA.

“Found in her possession were two cartridges of high explosive, live ammunition for cal. 40mm grenade launcher (M203),” he said.

“She (Regasajo) was immediately brought to the Quezon Municipal Police Station for proper filing of criminal charges,” he added. Robina Asido/DMS