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Negros Oriental barangay chairman critically injured, neighbor dead in possible NPA attack


DUMAGUETE CITY — An incoming barangay chairman is in critical condition and his neighbor dead after his house was strafed by around 70 armed men believed to be New People’s Army (NPA) rebels Tuesday dawn in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, a town more than three hours away from this city.

Acting Guihulngan police chief Superintendent Mario Baquiran Jr. told GMA News Online that newly elected Barangay Humay-Humay chairman Mike Jakosalem was shot in the head and was rushed to a hospital in nearby San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.

As of press time, he is undergoing treatment at the Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City.

His neighbor, 24-year-old Lenmar Cabasag, was rushed to the Guihulngan District Hospital but did not survive several gunshot wounds to different parts of his body.

According to initial investigation by the Guihulngan Police, about 70 armed men stormed Jakosalem and Cabasag's homes at around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday in Sitio Tagbacon in Humay-Humay, a mountain barangay located around 20 kilometers away from the city’s proper.

Cabasag’s brother Ladino told police that he first heard men shouting outside their home. When he opened the door, he saw several unidentified armed men wielding high-powered guns, who ordered him to go back inside his house.

The armed men then sprayed their house with gunfire; Ladino and his wife emerged unhurt after the incident. His brother Lenmar, however, was shot several times upon opening his door.

Ladino then heard additional gunshots being fired at a neighboring house, which turned out to be Jakosalem’s residence.

The Guihulngan police and personnel from the PNP’s Special Action Force (SAF) are now conducting a manhunt to track down the suspects, who immediately fled to a hilly portion of Barangay Humay-Humay.

Baquiran told GMA News Online in a phone interview that they are looking at politics as an angle for the possible motive of the shooting, as Jakosalem was reportedly a vocal supporter of the government.

“Posibleng hindi siya nagustuhan ng [NPA] dahil pro-government siya,” the police chief said, adding that Jakosalem has already received warnings of possible attacks by the NPA since he was elected chairman of Barangay Humay-Humay during the May 14 polls.

Humay-Humay is known as an NPA bailiwick, Baquiran noted.

This is the second shooting incident this month in Guihulngan City, and the sixth shooting there since incumbent councilor Paulo Edison Dela Rita Jr. was shot dead last April 2.

Because of these incidents, police will be conducting more checkpoints in Guihulngan to curb criminal elements, Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO) director Senior Superintendent Raul Tacaca told GMA News Online.

Tacaca said the police will also be coordinating with the local government in Guihulngan to review the implementation of the helmet law there, as most of the shooting incidents in the city involved motorcycle “riding-in-tandem” suspects. — BM, GMA News

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