Bloody Monday murders: Wife of leftist, fotog, student killed

Amid relentless calls for the Arroyo administration to stop extrajudicial killings, unidentified gunmen on Monday claimed three lives in three daylight murders: a student activist, a photojournalist, and the wife of a provincial organizer of the militant party-list group Bayan Muna. The armed attacks were carried out the same day in a span of less than three hours in various places in Luzon. First to fall was the provincial spokesman of the League of Filipino Students (LFS) in Bulan, Sorsogon. Two hours later, a photojournalist for the tabloid Tanod whose cousin --also a photojournalist killed last May 16 -- was shot dead in front of his home in Malabon, Metro Manila. The third incident victimized the leader of Bayan Muna in Kalinga province; he was critically wounded while his wife was killed during an attack in Tabuk town. In the Sorsogon case, two unidentified men opened fire at LFS provincial spokesman Rei Mon Guran, 21 years old, in Bulan town at around 6:15 a.m. Guran, a student of Aquinas University in Sorsogon, was waiting at a bus terminal when the gunmen struck. He was shot four times. Guran was rushed to the Sorsogon Doctors Hospital but was declared dead on arrival by attending physicians. In the Kalinga attack, GMA 7's DZBB reported that Bayan Muna provincial leader Chandu Claver (not Clavier) and his wife Alice were on board their Mitsubishi Pajero (plate CNB-806) in Tabuk town when masked armed men opened fired at them at about 7 a.m. Alice was pronounced dead at about 1 p.m. Monday at the Kalinga Provincial Hospital. Director General Oscar Calderon, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, ordered the creation of a task force to investigate the ambush of the Clavers. In Malabon, unidentified men killed photojournalist Prudencio "Dick" Melendres at about 8:42 a.m. in front of his house at Gozon Compound, Tonsuya village. Melendres was assigned at the Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela (Camanava) beat. He died of gunshot wounds to the left part of his chest and the spine. Police in late Monday afternoon arrested at least one suspect in the early-morning Melendrez' murder. Chief Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil, head of the Northern Police District, said the arrest stemmed from a letter Melendres gave his widow, which contained “possible suspects" if he were killed. “What I can tell you now is that the killing was not related to his work as a journalist. We are still going after at least three more suspects," DZBB radio quoted Bataoil as saying. Undergoing investigation as of press time was Antonio Lopez, one of the names in the letter. Lopez was to undergo a paraffin test Monday evening. Bataoil also said they have provided security to Melendres' brothers Ferdie and Junior, who received “death threats" five days ago. Initial investigation showed that at least three gunmen attacked Melendres using 9-mm. pistols, based on the slugs recovered from the crime scene. Malabon police chief Sr. Supt. Moises Guevarra said he has organized a task group to go after the attackers. "We're still verifying the motive for the killing. It's possible it could be personal," Guevarra said during an interview on radio station DZBB. Melendres was reportedly a cousin of photojournalist Albert Orsolino, who was similarly shot dead during an ambush on May 16. Orsolino was killed while on his way to Malacañang, where he was assigned as a photojournalist for the Saksi Ngayon tabloid. The Philippine National Police (PNP) had filed murder charges against five men accused of killing Orsolino. MORE THAN 710 KILLED A total of 717 people have been killed since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo assumed office in 2001, according to the July 31, 2006 data gathered by human rights group Karapatan. Of this number, no less than 300 are members of activist groups. At least 105 Bayan Munda members have been murdered under the Arroyo administration, the group said. From the ranks of media, a total of 82 journalists had been killed since 1986. Of this figure, 45 were killed since Mrs. Arroyo assumed the presidency. BACK ON THE JOB The attacks came as President Arroyo, who has been criticized for failing to curb the murder of journalists and activists, reported back to work in Malacañang Palace after a bout with influenza. Family members and relatives of the victims of alleged extrajudicial killings were among the signatories in the latest impeachment complaints filed against Mrs. Arroyo this year. For its part, the International Federation of Journalists has described the Philippines as among the most dangerous places in the world for media practitioners in the world, second only to war-torn Iraq. In her state of the nation address last week, President Arroyo said that, "In the harshest possible terms, I condemn political killings. We urge witnesses to come out to stop extrajudicial executions." But in the same speech, the President also commended Major Gen. Jovito Palparan of the 7th Infantry Division based in the communist rebels' stomping ground of Central Luzon. Her comments on Palparan drew flak from activist groups and family members of the victims, saying Mrs. Arroyo should not have praised the alleged "butcher" of provincial activists. MORE DEATHS The ambush on the Clavers came a day after another Bayan Muna member from Nueva Ecija was killed also by armed men. Authorities on Sunday identified the victim as Bayan Muna member Mario Florendo of Parista village in Lupao town. Bayan Muna has accused the military of masterminding the deaths of activists, a claim that the Armed Forces has repeatedly denied. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales had previously tagged Bayan Muna as a front organization for the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA). BLOODY MONDAY "Bloody Monday" was how Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes Jr described the recent killings. Bayan is holding Mrs. Arroyo directly accountable for the recent wave of killings, accusing her SONA speech as a "go-signal" for more activist killings, he said.. "The message last SONA was unmistakable. Political killings are being tolerated and promoted by this administration. That is what is happening right now. Killings have escalated because the regime approves of it," Reyes said. Reyes said he believes that the PNP Task Force Usig is not doing enough to solve the spate of political killings that target leaders of cause-oriented groups. "It has been three months since the formation of Task Force Usig and yet the killings continue. What happened to the statements of Gen. (Oscar) Calderon? What is Gen. (Avelino) Razon doing? What is DILG Sec. Ronnie Puno doing? Are they helpless when Arroyo openly praised Palparan?" Reyes asked. The group also noted that the killings occurred exactly a week after Mrs. Arroyo praised Palaparan for his efforts in counter-insurgency. Palparan has been accused of widespread human rights violations including political killings. "The past few days saw another resurgence in political killings, right after Mrs. Arroyo's SONA. After the president exonerated Palparan, those responsible for these killings were emboldened to do more," Reyes said.-GMANews.TV