Armed RHB man
nabbed by soldiers

Another armed member of the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbo ng Bayan, a splinter group of the New People's Army, was captured by 61 st Infantry Battalion soldiers in Sitio Bandehan, Brgy. Salong, Kabankalan City , Negros Occidental, Saturday.

1Lt. Joselito Dalida, 61 st IB Civil Military Operations chief, yesterday said Paciano Cantiveros, alias Ka Ciano, who was left behind by his fleeing comrades, was captured without a firefight.

The arrest of Cantiveros, who is now detained at the Kabankalan City police station jail, yielded a .45 caliber pistol, and an Armscort 12-gauge shotgun with 24 live ammunition.

In May, two comrades of Cantiveros were also killed in a gunbattle with 61 st IB soldiers in the same barangay, which resulted in the recovery of two .38 caliber revolvers and a fragmentation grenade, military records show.

The RHB, which was formed by disgruntled leaders of the CPP-NPA in the late 1990s, used to have 30 armed followers in southern Negros .

Now they are getting smaller in number with the deaths and capture of their members, Dalida said.

He added the success of their operations against RHB and other rebel groups was a product of the collaboration among the local government units, community, and the military.

The NPA splinter group reportedly headed by a certain Ka Nikki had been operating in the upland areas of Kabankalan City , Ilog and Cauayan towns, and linked by the military to robbery, and extortion activities in these areas.*GPB

back to top

KILLING
Crane operator
surrenders to cops

A seaport crane operator gave himself up to Station 4 policemen at about 9 p.m. Saturday, four days after he stabbed dead a widower in Bacolod City , police report said yesterday.

Police identified the surrenderee as Dominador Vera Cruz, 50, of Purok Isla, Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod .

Vera Cruz allegedly stabbed dead his neighbor Rolando Salde, 74, at about 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday last week over an old grudge. Vera Cruz fled after the stabbing bringing the bladed weapon he used.

The suspect said that earlier on Wednesday, he passed by the residence of Salde and he heard the victim challenging him to a fight. He said he went home and took a 5-inch bladed weapon and stabbed Salde, who was standing in front of his house.

He said he went to Dumaguete City after he stabbed Salde and went back to Bacolod Saturday, because his mother keeps on texting him to surrender.

The suspect also admitted that he and Salde had a misunderstanding about two years ago.

Vera Cruz is now detained at the lock up cell of Station 4 and charges will be filed against him.*APN

back to top

Military deviates
from ‘body-count'

The body count syndrome is no longer a measurement in waging a battle against the New People's Army, Maj. Eugenio Julio Osias IV, of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Civil Relations Service, said yesterday.

The AFP, under the leadership of Gen. Victor Ibrado, deviates from the body-count syndrome, he said.

Osias added the AFP is now pursuing the unconventional warfare of defeating the insurgency with the least use of guns as much as possible.

While body counts remains a feature of warfare, the new parameter of measuring military success is lesser fighting and killings as much as possible, he added.

Col. Maximo Caro, 303 rd Infantry Brigade commander, said rebels who want to live a normal life may avail of the government's Social Integration Program, plus financial and livelihood assistance of as much as P120,000 each.

Military records show that 120 ex-rebels in Western Visayas have availed of financial assistance and livelihood packages under the SIP.

By focusing on killings, Osias said the military is being reduced to mere combatants and negates the soldier's more significant contributions in improving people's lives.

Under the new paradigm, he added, using lethal force should be taken as the last resort.

Osias added the soldiers may kill every enemy. But as long as the belief and reasons in joining the criminal group lives and lingers, there will always be new recruits to replace those members killed, he added.*GPB

back to top