Absalon cousins killed in NPA blast were also shot — military
MANILA, Philippines (Update 2, 1:54 p.m.) — Football athlete Kieth Absalon and his labor leader cousin Nolvin Absalon, who died after an explosive planted by the New People’s Army detonated while they were biking in Masbate City, were also shot, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Thursday.
"Our investigation shows that aside from being blown up, they were also shot," AFP spokesperson Edgard Arevalo said in Filipino over state-run People's Television.
Arevalo said they are now determining whether the two men were shot first or were first injured by the explosion and then shot.
Autopsy reports prepared by the Masbate City Health Office which were sent to reporters late Wednesday night said that the Absalon cousins died from blood loss due to gunshot wounds and blast injuries they sustained.
Kieth, 21, sustained a gunshot wound in the right eye, while Nolvin, 38, had gunshot wounds on his right shoulder blade and his thigh.
The older Absalon also had a “gaping wound” on the left side of his head “with brain tissues exposed.” They also sustained numerous wounds across their body, according to the autopsy reports.
The Communist Party of the Philippines and the NPA has owned up to the killing of the two men and apologized for the “errors in the military action mounted by an NPA unit.”
Rights monitors and government officials widely condemned the killing of the Absalons, with them calling for justice for their deaths.
In a statement on Thursday, rights group Karapatan took the CPP and NPA to task over the deaths.
"We expect the CPP and NPA to live up to their pledge to ensure prompt investigation, to hold accountable the NPA unit and elements directly involved in the deplorable and lamentable incident, and to indemnify the victims through their families," it said, stressing that "parties to an armed conflict should always distinguish civilians from combatants."
CPP vows compensation
The CPP-NPA did not mention gunshot wounds or a shooting incident in its statement taking responsibility for the deaths of the Absalon cousins.
Asked about the supposed autopsy findings, CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena told Philstar.com that he could not provide a definite answer at the moment as the NPA commands in Bicol are still investigating the incident.
"It is likely that this would take time, especially with the all-out offensives and suppression campaign being mounted by the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) in the area," Valbuena said.
In a statement on Wednesday, the CPP assured that the Absalon family will be fully compensated in accordance with international law.
The CPP also acknowledged that the killing of the Absalons “involves a breach of international laws of war and of the internal rules of the NPA which gives the highest priority to the protection of civilians at all times.”
We take cognizance of sentiments expressed by concerned quarters. The tragedy involves a breach of intl laws of war & NPA's internal rules. Providing full remuneration is a matter of justice & obligation. Lessons must be learned to avoid such mistakes and to strengthen NPA. pic.twitter.com/Yj8Ygyi4QF
— Marco L. Valbuena (@marco_cpp) June 9, 2021
It added that it is using its own rules together with the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions to determine its course of action on the killings.
The CPP-NPA is bound by the CARHRIHL signed in 1998 by the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, which represents communist rebels in peace talks.
The CPP also said that the NPA unit and personnel who killed the Absalons can be disciplined or punished according to their responsibilities and conduct during the incident.
The government, however, wants the CPP and the NPA to turn over to them those behind the killing of the Absalons.
The military, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Commission on Human Rights said the NPA must surrender its fighters involved in the blast so they can face justice before the country's courts.
“Since the CPP-NPA has accepted full responsibility for the senseless murder, it now becomes their duty to turn over the terrorists responsible for the deaths so that justice may be served to their families and loved ones,” Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said.
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