NPA rebels shoot councilor dead

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  — Reelected Councilor Crispin Posadas Jr. of  Isabela town, Negros Occidental was shot to death by three members of the New People’s Army at the town’s public market Wednesday afternoon.

Posadas, 50, was gunned down almost a year after the town’s former mayor, 5th District Provincial Board Member Renato Malabor, was killed along with his bodyguard in a cockpit, also in this town.

The victim was brought to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. He succumbed to three gunshot wounds, including those in the head.

Posadas, a former member of the military, was elected No. 3 councilor of Isabela in the recent elections, for his third and last term.

Chief Inspector Anthony Grande, Isabela Police chief, said Posadas had just alighted from his motorcycle when three armed men shot him at the parking lot near the terminal.

The three assailants fled on a tricycle, which they later abandoned at Barangay Maytubig. Before they left, they fired two warning shots. Police recovered seven bullet casings of a .45-caliber gun and four bullet casings of a .9mm revolver.

Hours after Posadas’s killing, the NPA released a statement owning up to his killing. Ka Ann Jacinto, spokesperson of the NPA’s Leonardo Panaligan Command, said they killed Posadas.

In a radio interview, Jacinto said the NPA People’s Court found the councilor guilty of his crimes and sentenced him to death. He claimed the councilor was involved in illegal activities, including cattle rustling and illegal drugs, while being an active asset of the military.   (FREEMAN)