DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental – The Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO) has formed another special investigation task group to look into the shooting and wounding of a newly-elected punong barangay in Barangay Humay-humay, Guihulngan City.
Presently recuperating from gunshot wounds in different parts of his body is Mike Jakosalem, married, of legal age, who took his oath of office before President Rodrigo Duterte this week – along with the rest of the reelected and newly-elected barangay captains in Region 7 in Cebu.
During the attack that happened around 4:30 a.m. on Independence Day, June 12, 2018, Jakosalem’s nephew and close-in bodyguard, Lenmar Camero Cabasag, was killed.
The initial investigation points to the New People’s Army (NPA) as responsible for the murder of Cabasag and the frustrated murder of the village chief.
Philippine National Police (PNP) provincial director Senior Supt. Raul Tacaca said that his initial assessment showed that “Jakosalem was a target of the NPA’s liquidation plan because of his openness to support the government in its anti-insurgency campaign”.
In fact, the victim had received threats and was previously warned by the communists, Tacaca said.
The heavily-armed suspects, who fired at the two men, fled through the hilly portion of the barangay and shouted “mabuhay ang NPA (long live the NPA),” according to the police report.
The police is also looking into reports of looting at the crime scene by the suspects while the males are being hogtied and the females ordered to drop.
Cabasag’s father, Ladi, in a cellphone interview disclosed that one of the armed men told them that he (village chief) had to be killed because “dako na og atraso ngadto kanila ang napili nga kapitan (the elected village chief has done many wrong things on them).”
Tacaca stressed that “loyalty of all newly-elected and reelected barangay captains and kagawads must be to the Constitution and not to any other organization like the NPA”.
Jakosalem is a successful Cebu-based businessman engaged in the business of stonework, customized kitchen, welding, plumbing, cabinetry, construction, and electrical, among others. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)
