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[av_heading heading=’Armed men shoot Tubungan Cafgu’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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Friday, May 5, 2017
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ILOILO City – Armed men shot a member of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in Barangay Igtuble, Tubungan, Iloilo yesterday.
The 42-year-old Alvior Estimo, also a farmer, died of multiple gunshot wounds. His killers could be members of the New People’s Army (NPA), said Senior Inspector Rolando Araño, Tubungan police chief.
As a Cafgu, Estimo was assigned at the 82nd Infantry Battalion (82IB) of the Philippine Army based in Camp Monteclaro, Miag-ao, Iloilo.
Estimo was attacked around 10 a.m. while working in his farm. According to witnesses, 10 armed men with M16 armalite riffles peppered him with bullets.
Responding policemen recovered 10 empty bullet shells of M16 armalite rifles.
Estmo was on vacation and thus did not have a gun to protect himself, said Lieutenant Colonel Vener Morga, 82IB commander.
Sometime in November and December last year, Estimo received death threats, the Army official told Panay News.
Morga was convinced that the armed men were rebels.
“(Estimo) was so helpless,” said Morga.
Just this Sunday, Morga’s men repelled a band of NPA rebels that tried to attack a detachment in Barangay Igcabugao, Igbaras town.
Soldiers spotted around 10 rebels slowly moving towards the Army detachment.
“Our men quickly fired an M203 grenade launcher against the enemies,” said Morga.
The rebels returned fire, said Morga, but the firefight with the government troops lasted only for some two minutes. The insurgents withdrew from the area past 12:30 a.m.
According to Morga, the rebels belonged to the Southern Front Committee of the NPA in Panay Island.
He believed his men wounded some of the rebels, citing bloodstains the insurgents left.
Morga recently dismissed the NPA’s recruitment activities in Panay Island as reflective of the rebels’ diminishing ranks.
“It has to recruit more because many members have left after realizing the futility of their cause. For 48 years they fooled the people with their false propaganda,” said Morga./PN
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