NPA hitman, 3 others killed in Negros Occidental

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — An alleged assassin of the New People’s Army and three others, including both retired Army soldier and policeman, were killed in separate shooting incidents, on Sunday and then Monday, in Negros Occidental.

Killed were George Ylanan, suspected by the police to be member of the NPA Special Partisan Unit (SPARU), Jose Jorito Amable, a retired member of the Philippine Army, Alejandro Borres II, also a retired police officer, and Federico Bitgue III.

Ylanan died after he was shot by Army soldiers, who were pursuing suspected NPA hitmen, who tried to kill CAFGU member Wilson Geresola on Sunday at sitio Dungga in Barangay Camalanda-an of Cauayan town in Negros Occidental.

Recovered from the slain Ylanan, who turned out to be a drug surrenderer, were a homemade pistolized shotgun with a dud bullet in the chamber, as well as five live ammunition of a 12-gauge shotgun.

The soldiers also recovered a .38-caliber revolver without ammunition, two magazines of a .45-caliber pistol, a Lenovo cellular phone, assorted identification cards, blue athletic police uniform, two camouflage T-shirts, and assorted short pants that were found inside a green backpack.

Investigations of the Cauayan Police showed that  Geresola was shot by a suspected assassin of the NPA, with a .45-caliber pistol, while he and Staff Sergeant Jose Jessie Pareño were on their way back to the detachment Saturday at Camalanda-an village.

Geresola, however,was not hit, while Pareño, who came to the rescue of the CAFGU member, managed to disarm the gunman, who was wearing a green T-shirt with an “Army” word on its left side, of his gun. But the gunman, initially identified later by the Cauayan Police as a certain Ka Kim, managed to escape.

The next day, a barangay resident informed members of the Philippine Army that SPARU members of the NPA, who were behind the failed attempt to kill Geresola, were sighted to be inside a nipa hut, beside the house of a certain Jeryn Palermo of Brgy. Camalanda-an.

Pareno and his team of soldiers responded to reports on sightings of the four suspects, whom they tried to convince to surrender, according to Police Officer 1 Cyrus Maquiling, investigator-on-case.

Maquiling said Ylanan instead tried to open fire at the soldiers, but his gun failed, prompting the soldiers to shoot back and hit him that caused his death. But Ylanan's three companions were able to escape, he said.

On the same day, four suspects riding in two motorcycles shot and killed Amable, Borres and Bitgue,who were attending a wake, at Crossing Magallon in Brgy. Bulad of Isabela, Negros Occidental. Hit by stray bullets and injured were Timothy Aaron Archebar, 10, and Alquin Genterola Jr, alias Jaja, a 34-year-old teacher.

Investigations of the Isabela Police showed that the two armed back riders of two motorcycles, opened fire at the victims, without any hesitation. Borres, Amable and Bitgue, who succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds, were all declared dead on arrival at the Isabela District Hospital, while the two other injured victims were later transferred to a hospital in Bacolod City.

Twenty-eight empty shells of .45-caliber and 9mm pistols were recovered at the scene by responding Isabela policemen, while the suspects, who were on two motorcycles, fled towards Moises Padilla town.