Four suspected New People’s Army assassins, including a woman,  gunned down a barangay chairman of Paitan in Escalante City, Negros Occidental, at about 7:30 a.m. yesterday, allegedly for his refusal to pay revolutionary taxes, police said.

The killing of Paitan Brgy. Capt. Ildefonso Senora, 47, came after the Roselyn “Ka Gene” Pelle Command claimed responsibility for the liquidation of militiaman Edgar Suico in Brgy. Bug-ang, Toboso, Nov. 1.

Suspected rebels also strafed a remote military outpost Tuesday in Brgy. Binubuhan, Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, but nobody was injured, military reports said.

Chief Inspector Santiago Rapiz, Escalante police chief, yesterday said the four suspected rebel assassins went to the house of Señora in Sitio Mongkada of the barangay, and shot him dead.

Rapiz said Señora, a party mate of Escalante Vice Mayor Santiago Barcelona, was shot three times.

Lt. Col. Sagat Bongolan, Task Group Lawin commander, said Señora sustained gunshot wounds in his breast and head.

Initial police investigations showed that Señora extended help to the counter-insurgency operations of the Philippine Army in Escalante, and ignored demands for revolutionary taxes by the CPP-NPA.

Rapiz said Señora was visited thrice by rebels at his home in the barangay, 15 kilometers away from the poblacion of Escalante, before he was killed.

Three spent shells and a slug of .45 caliber pistol were recovered by police investigators of Escalante  at the crime scene.

Police records showed that a barangay captain identified with Barcelona also survived an attempt to kill him by rebels, but his son died in the attack late last year.

Señora was the sixth barangay captain assassinated by rebels in Negros island since 2004, military records showed.

Meanwhile, Ka Cecille Estrella, spokesperson of the Roselyn Pelle Command, in a statement sent to the DAILY STAR, justified the killing of Suico, whom they also accused of being an “asset” of the Philippine Army.

Estrella also linked Suico to robbery-hold-up, gun smuggling and drug peddling activities in Toboso and Calatrava.

The rebel group added that they will soon issue an arrest warrant against a certain Bebe Lumayno, 50, whom they accused of land-grabbing activities in Brgy. Bug-ang, Toboso, Brgys. Minapasok and Mina-utok in Calatrava.

Estrella added they also have in their list names of Army intelligence assets in Brgy. Bug-ang, Toboso, whom they have warned against their counter-insurgency activities.*GPB

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