Police yesterday said Kenneth Tirthdas may be held liable for the fatal shooting of a member of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade, who had also shot dead his brother-in-law in Talisay City , on Sunday.

Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, provincial police director, yesterday said that while Tirthdas signified his intention to cooperate with the police investigations, they do not have any choice but to file a case against him.

Police investigations showed that Tirthdas allegedly shot RPA-ABB member Edgar Nicor, alias Ka Joshua, who also killed Labor Arbiter Phibun Pura, his brother-in-law, outside a cockpit in Brgy. Zone 14, Talisay City , Negros Occidental.

Franco said they have also identified the two companions of Nicor who immediately fled after the incident. He is, however, withholding their identities as of this time.

RPA-ABB spokesman Victorino Sumulong has clarified that what Nicor did was not sanctioned by their organization.

Franco said he has already coordinated with RPA-ABB national commander Carapali Lualhati on the involvement of their members on the incident.

Supt. Joseph Thomas Martir, Talisay police chief, said Tirthdas feared for his life, and this may be the reason why he did not surface until now.

Acting Governor Isidro Zayco yesterday appealed for sobriety and asked those involved not to take justice in their hands, apparently referring to the killing of Pura.

“We have legal processes to follow, and we should not resort to violence,” Zayco said.

Franco said they cannot say yet if it was a gun-for-hire case, referring to Nicor, as their investigations were still ongoing as of yesterday. But he added that the motive of the killing could likely be job-related.

The group calling itself the Workers Justice Committee, in a statement signed by Honorato Dimagiba, said the killing of Pura should serve as a lesson to “corrupt labor arbiters” at the NLRC, not only in Region 6, but in the entire Philippines.

It cited the arrest of Pura by the National Bureau of Investigation for allegedly receiving bribe money. Pura at the time of his arrest had vehemently denied the allegation.*GPB

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