PNP orders full probe of Bicol militant’s murder

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Oscar Calderon has ordered a full-blown investigation into the murder of a provincial chairman of a militant group in Bicol Sunday. Radio station dzBB reported Monday that Calderon ordered the Bicol police to "get to the bottom" of the killing of Rodolfo Alvarez, provincial chairman of Bayan Muna. Initial reports indicated unidentified men shot Alvarez dead in San Lorenzo village in Ligao City in Albay province at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Alvarez succumbed to at least eight gunshot wounds in different parts of the body. Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño condemned the murder and said the police and military must be held accountable for the murder. Militants had blamed the government for the extra-judicial killings that peaked last year. The killings prompted Malacañang to create a body headed by former Supreme Court justice Jose Melo to probe the killings. Melo’s commission ended its work last December but did not make the findings public. On the other hand, militant groups said the Melo Commission took testimonies mainly from military officials apparently to "whitewash" the military’s killings. - GMANews.TV