NPAs vow to exact 'justice' for killing of leader's brother

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines – The New Peoples’ Army in Southern Mindanao has vowed to ‘exact’ justice for the recent killing of the brother of one of the revolutionary leaders in the island. In a statement issued Thursday, the Merardo Arce Command of the NPA's Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command condemned what it termed as a ‘cold-blooded’ murder of Danilo Pitao, brother of NPA commander Parago. Such act, it said, was a desperate act by the Arroyo government “to make up for what it has failed to achieve in the battlefield." “Failing to score points in its counter-revolutionary war, [operatives of] the Army’s 10th Infantry Division shot dead Pitao, a civilian and a family man who made a living out of working in Davao del Norte provincial capitol," the statement said. The rebel group has vowed to exact revolutionary justice for Pitao and his family and the families of other victims of human rights abuses in the region. “The names of the operatives who executed Pitao and those who masterminded and planned for his execution are already known to the NPA," warned rebel spokesman Rigoberto Sanchez. Pitao, 42, was on his way home to Tagum City onboard a tricycle when attacked by unidentified gunmen on Friday afternoon. Tagum City PNP chief Supt. Dario Gunabe said Pitao, a member of the Davao del Norte provincial security force, was returning home from the provincial capitol in Mankilam village when the suspects, who rode in tandem on a motorcycle, shot him several times. - GMANews.TV