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Retired soldier shot dead by suspected NPA rebels
DUMAGUETE CITY — A retired soldier was killed Tuesday afternoon after he was shot multiple times by suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Bulado, Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental.
Superintendent Mario Baquiran, chief of the Guihulngan Police, said that 53-year-old Larry de Gracia, a retired master sergeant of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion (MIB), was killed on the spot after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds including a shot to the head.
Initial police investigation showed that de Gracia, the manager of the Bulado Port in Guihulngan City, was driving his motorcycle on his way home from the port Tuesday afternoon when two gunmen shot him multiple times.
More than 10 used shells of a 9mm and a .45 caliber pistol were recovered from the crime scene.
The shooters, along with their alleged companions, then reportedly shouted “Mabuhay ang NPA” as they fled the scene, Baquiran said over the phone.
Police initially tagged the victim as a retired member of the 79th Infantry Battalion based in northern Negros, but 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) commander Lt. Col. Egberto Dacoscos later identified the victim as a part of the 3rd MIB, which covers Regions 6 (Western Visayas) and 7 (Central Visayas).
As of press time, authorities have not yet determined the motive for the shooting, but Baquiran said the police are not discounting the possibility that de Gracia’s killing may have something to do with his work as a soldier.
The police chief further noted that de Gracia, who retired from the military service in 2015, was possibly a target for liquidation of the NPA as he had been receiving death threats since last month.
“Ni-report pa nga niya sa mga dating katropa niya na may natatanggap nga siyang mga threat sa buhay niya,” Baquiran said.
Guihulngan Police, along with the Army’s 94th IB, are currently conducting hot pursuit operations against the perpetrators.
This is the third time communist rebels were tagged in a shooting incident in Guihulngan City since April. On April 2, suspected rebels shot incumbent Guihulngan City councilor Paulo Edison dela Rita Sr. while he was driving home from a fund-raising event.
Just last month, more than 70 armed men, believed to be NPA members, strafed the home of incoming Barangay Humay-Humay Chairman Mike Jakosalem in the morning of June 12. He later died of his injuries at a hospital in Cebu City after weeks of being in a coma.
Because of these incidents, the Army deployed the 94th IB to curb the insurgency problem in Guihulngan City.
Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO) acting director Sr. Supt. Raul Tacaca previously said that they are now intensifying police checkpoints in the city in response to these shooting incidents. — BAP, GMA News
