BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The bounty being offered for the arrest of a notorious leader of the New People’s Army in northern Negros who has been linked to numerous murder cases, rose from P100,000 to P300,000, the 79th Infantry Battalion commander, Lt. Col. J Jay Javines, disclosed.
This was after an additional amount of P200,000 was pledged yesterday by a donor, following the killing of a village chief in Brgy. Lalong, Calatrava, by a group of communist terrorists led by Arnel Tapang, according to Javines.
He disclosed that the family of Lalong barangay captain Benjamen Javoc is determined to press charges against Tapang, who commands the armed remnants of the dismantled Northern Negros Front.
Javines said he expects the bounty offer for Tapang’s arrest could further increase to P500,000, as more stakeholders promised to allocate funds to speed up his arrest.
PLt. Judesses Catalogo, spokesperson of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, yesterday said that they are preparing to file the criminal complaints against the NPA members responsible for the death of Javoc, after getting sworn statements from witnesses.
Catalogo said that witnesses were able to identify the rebel suspects through the photographs presented to them by authorities.
As to the killing Cabcab barangay chairman Danilo Dautil in Isabela, Catalogo said the family of the victim also expressed their intention to pursue filing charges against the suspects.
In a statement, Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, 3rd Infantry Division commander, said that they will not stop hunting the NPA remnants in Western and Central Visayas who refuse to surrender to the government.
Arevalo said the NPA remnants have three options to choose: surrender and live peacefully with their families, be arrested for international human rights violations, or be killed in a gun battle.*
