Soldier on disaster duty takes break, slain by NPA

Manila, Philippines - A soldier who took time out from his typhoon duties in the Bicol region to celebrate his son’s birthday was killed by suspected hit men of the New People’s Army in Sorsogon yesterday morning.

Pfc. Efren Salcedo was bringing his two-year-old son to a nearby resort on board a passenger jeepney when three men shot him at around 8:30 a.m. in Barangay Macawayan, Irosin town.

A female passenger, Resurrection Mendones, was also killed as she was hit by stray bullets.

Witnesses positively identified Richard Galos, head of the NPA’s Front Committee 80 operating in Irosin and nearby areas, as one of the three assailants of Salcedo, who belonged to the Disaster Response Team of the Army’s 49th Infantry Battalion.