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Negros Oriental police to form task force to look into doctor’s murder


DUMAGUETE CITY — Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo has ordered the establishment of a special investigation task group to look into the murder of a medical officer in Guihulngan City this week.

In his executive order issued Wednesday, Degamo ordered Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO) acting director Senior Superintendent Raul Tacaca to establish "Task Force Avelex," named after Dr. Avelex Amor, who was killed in Guihulngan City Tuesday.

Amor, who was Chief Medical Officer IV of the Canlaon District Hospital, was shot dead by three unidentified assassins as he made a stopover in Guihulngan on his way home here Tuesday morning.

Initial police investigation showed that Amor was driving from Canlaon City to Dumaguete City when he decided to pull over along the national highway in  Barangay Basak, Guihulngan City for a bathroom break.

During the said break, one of the assailants approached Amor and shot him several times in different parts of his body. The perpetrators fled immediately.

Amor was brought to the Guihulngan District Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival.

Police recovered from the crime scene four used cartridges, believed to have come from a caliber .45 pistol. As of this writing, authorities have initiated a hot pursuit operation to track down the yet-unidentified assassins.

Guihulngan City Police chief Superintendent Mario Baquiran said that while they have yet to determine the motive behind Amor's killing, they are considering personal grudges as a possible angle.

Baquiran declined to disclose further details as they are still investigating the incident.

"There is a need to create a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to speed up the resolution of the case, and bring the perpetrators to the bars of justice," Degamo wrote in his order.

The provincial government of Negros Oriental, in a Facebook post, also extended its "heartfelt condolences" to Amor's family.

For his part, former Silliman University (SU) president Dr. Ben S. Malayang III expressed his anger over Amor's murder.

In his Facebook post, Malayang lamented the deaths of Amor and human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos, who were both SU graduates. Ramos was shot dead by unidentified assassins in Kabankalan City on the evening of November 6.

"As a Silliman classmate of Avelex’s father, Alex Jr., I am enraged by how their lives were snuffed out so violently. But I am proud with how they lived their lives for others!" Malayang said.

Amor was the grandson of lawyer Alexander Amor, who had been an acting director of the SU School of Journalism and Communication, now the College of Mass Communication. The elder Amor was also known for his work in community journalism, having been the editor-publisher of The Vanguard newspaper. — BM, GMA News

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