BACOLOD City – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has announced its intention to conduct an independent investigation into the encounter that transpired on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 21, in Purok Lubi, Barangay Tabugon, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Vincent Parra, the head of CHR-Negros Occidental, said Ruben Gaitan’s wife was insistent that her husband was not affiliated with the New People’s Army (NPA).
Another victim was a woman. Following a post-mortem examination, it was determined that she was five months pregnant.
Parra said their investigation would commence the following week. They are concurrently examining other incidents in southern Negros, especially the event in Bago City on Friday, Sept. 22, where two victims, believed to have been summarily executed, were discovered.
In the interim, CHR-Negros Occidental plans to send a letter to the Philippine Army and schedule a discussion with the Kabankalan City police, who were the first responders post-encounter.
On Sept. 21, units from the Philippine Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion (47IB) were executing a security operation in Barangay Tabugon. They encountered six alleged rebels traveling by tricycle.
Brigadier General Joey Escanillas, the commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade (303IBde), reported that the suspected rebels initiated the gunfire, leading the military personnel to react defensively.
Besides Gaitan, the deceased were identified over the weekend as Alejo “Peter/Bravo” Delos Reyes, Bobby “Recoy” Pedro, Mario Fajardo “Rico/Goring” Mullon, and Melissa “Diane” Dela Pena. The identity of the sixth casualty remains undetermined. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
