• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Two more civilians were added to the list of victims of summary executions perpetrated by remnants of the New People’s Army, as they again claimed responsibility for the killing of Rey Norquiana on February 17 in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, and that of Raymund Francisco Nuevo in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, on Feb. 11.
In a statement, the Romeo Nanta Command-NPA, South Central Negros Guerrilla Front alleged that Norquiana served as an intelligence asset of the 94th Infantry Battalion.
Initial investigations of the Binalbagan police showed that the victim, a sugarcane farmer, was shot by unidentified armed suspects from a distance, in Sitio Sulbod, Brgy. Santol, Binalbagan, on Feb. 17
He succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds, including a fatal injury in the head.
The victim’s companion, a 25 year-old laborer, was also hit on the right leg.
Both were immediately brought to the Ignacio Lacson Arroyo Memorial District Hospital, where Norquiana was reported by the police to have been declared dead on arrival.
The Leonardo Panaligan Command also issued a statement claiming responsibility for the death of Nuevo on Feb. 11 in Sityo Natuling, Barangay Budlasan, Canlaon City, Negros Oriental.
The group also accused the victim of being a military informant of the 62nd Infantry Battalion.
The Army’s 3rd Infantry Division earlier called on the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the brutal murder of 28 innocent civilians in Negros Island since 2025, which have been claimed by the NPA.
The Commission on Human Rights in Negros Island Region has yet to respond to the call of authorities.*
