Military links CPP-NPA to recent Negros killings

The military on Thursday linked the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), to the recent killing of two people in Negros Oriental.

The Army's 3rd Infantry Division identified the victims as Jonybert Sabeco, a former member of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army (RPA), and Reynaldo Loque-Loque, a civilian.

"[The killing] is a very serious human rights matter wherein CPP-NPA Terrorist boastfully claiming the responsibility of killing civilians," said 3rd ID commander Major General Dinoh Dolina in a statement.

"It is a clear violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) on which the CPP-NPA-NDF is one of the signatories," he added.

The military said unidentified members of CPP-NPA "brutally killed" 40-year-old Sabeco on Tuesday and shot 30-year-old Loque-Loque on Monday outside his house in Barangay Nalundan in Bindoy.

Dolina said the killings contradict the statements of the CPP-NPA and its support groups that they are freedom fighters and human rights defenders.

"These are deceptive slogans designed to mislead the people," Dolina said. "The truth here is they don't value human rights and human life. They are the true murderers and human rights violators."

The also linked the CPP-NPA to the murder of a village watchman who was killed in front of his daughter in Barangay Carol-an, Kabankalan City. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News