• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The four slain New People’s Army rebels were accorded with a decent burial on March 4 at the public cemetery in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, after their respective families failed to claim their remains.
Capt. Eduardo Rarugal, 94th Infantry Battalion Civil Military Operations officer, disclosed that the cadavers of slain rebels were already in an advanced stage of decomposition when discovered by troops in the rugged terrain of Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City, following an encounter there on March 1.
On March 4, one of the fleeing rebels, who was hungry and tired of evading pursuing government troopers, surrendered to the 94IB, bringing along his issued M-16 assault rifle.
Prior to their burial of four slain rebels, their cadavers were turned over by the 94IB to City Social Welfare and Development Office of Himamaylan City, for documentation and funeral, which was conducted in a solemn and dignified manner.
In a statement, Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, 94IB commander, slammed the NPA for abandoning their slain comrades, and worse, for failure to inform their respective families of their passing.
This is a clear violation of the basic human right to be informed about the status and whereabouts of their loved ones, Almonte said.
He added that it is a moral obligation for the CPP NPA leadership, recruiters and their political allies to take responsibility for the welfare of their members, even in death.
It is their moral obligation to retrieve the remains of their fallen comrades and provide them with a proper burial, and inform their families of their passing, Almonte further said.*
