Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar slammed the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed unit, the New People’s Army, (CPP-NPA) for ignoring calls to surrender their members responsible for an explosive attack that killed cousins Keith and Nolven Absalon.
Anti-personnel mines detonated and killed the Absalons and wounded Nolven’s 16-year-old son as they were cycling from one barangay to another in Masbate on June 6. The CPP-NPA has taken“full responsibility for the tragedy” in Masbate and declared “deep remorse” for the “untimely and unnecessary” deaths.
“What can we expect from these rebels who are just pretending to be remorseful over their terrorist attack that killed Keith and Nolven?” Eleazar said.
“They have never been sincere, in the first place, and we have expected this from them. The CPP-NPA will not listen to reason, stuck in their crooked and twisted way of thinking,” he added.
Eleazar said the CPP-NPA did not even bother to sanction its own men for the death of two civilians. He added that the inaction of the group would embolden its men to continue with the terror activities at the expense of the civilians.
“Ang lalakas ng loob nilang pumuna sa pamahalaan at ginagamit pa nila itong instrumento para linlangin ang taumbayan, pero ang sarili nilang tauhan bine-baby kapag nakapatay ng mga inosenteng sibilyan? Ito ay patunay kung anong klaseng ideolohiya meron ang mga grupong ito,” he said.
Amid the insincerity of the communist rebels’ remorse over the death of the Absalon cousins, Eleazar promised the victims’ families that the police and military will give them justice for Keith’s and Nolven’s senseless killing.
“I assure the Absalon family that the joint forces of the police and the military will not stop pursuing the perpetrators of this senseless killing and bring them to justice,” he said.
“Tutulungan po namin sila makakuha ng hustisya para sa kanilang mga mahal sa buhay, dahil ang pamahalaang ito ay naniniwala na ito ay makakamit lamang kung maihaharap sa korte at mahahatulan ang mga salarin sa krimen at hindi sa simpleng pagso-sorry,” he added.
Eleazar stressed, “No less than the arrest and conviction by a court of law of the perpetrators behind this violent and dastardly act can make up for the death of the two innocent men.” – jlo (from PNP-PIO)
