Rebel group offer to help solve crimes in Dumaguete

MANILA, Philippines – Officials in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental have welcomed an offer by communist guerrillas to help keep the peace, an online news site reported Saturday. Visayan Daily Star (www.visayandailystar.com) reported that Dumaguete Mayor Agustin Perdices Thursday welcomed the offer of the Revolutionary Proletariat Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade to help solve the peace and order problems of the city. The Rebolusyonaryong Partido Ng Manggagawang Pilipino had said it was willing to help the city in its anti-criminality campaign as part of their peace agreement with the Philippine government. But the mayor said the method that the RPA-ABB will use to provide assistance will have to be determined yet. The RPMP-RPA-ABB issued its statement weeks after former RPA-ABB commanding officer Richard “Jake" Rosales was gunned down in broad daylight by two unidentified assailants. While Rosales was no longer connected with the RPA-ABB, the group said it will continue to investigate the motive and the persons behind his murder. It also called for a deeper probe into other extra-judicial killings in the city and voiced hopes that Rosales will not be used as a scapegoat for the unsolved crimes. Earlier, city police head Superintendent Leopoldo Cabanag said Rosales had been tagged as a gun-for-hire and was being eyed as one of the suspects in the deaths of at least three people in Dumaguete, but Perdices said there is no evidence yet to back this up. - GMANews.TV