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DAVAO CITY—Still-unidentified
gunmen shot dead on Thursday the leader of a militant
farmers’ group here, raising fresh concerns on the
safety of other militant leaders here.
The police identified the victim as
Celso Pojas, 45, the spokesman for the Kilusang
Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP)-Southern Mindanao and the
chairman of the Farmers’ Association of Davao City (FADC).
Initial investigation showed that Pojas
sustained three gunshot wounds, two of them fatal. He
was hit twice in the chest and once in the left forearm.
Witnesses told investigators that two
armed men approached Pojas at about 6 a.m. and shot him
as he was returning to the FADC office after buying
cigarettes.
The FADC office is in Bugac, Maa, some 5
kilometers west of downtown Davao City. A companion in
the office that time, who requested anonymity, said
Pojas tried to escape by running away from his
attackers, but only reached as far as the steel gate of
the office before falling.
“He just bought cigarettes and after he
crossed the street, he was apparently approached from
the back and shot. He was able to shout for help,” said
a companion, who agreed to give his statement yesterday
to the police after he was assured that he would not
sign any document. He was accompanied by a female staff
member of the human-rights group Karapatan.
Supt. Michael John Dubria, chief of the
Talomo police station that covers Maa, assured the two
that they would only be asked to give their statements
and what they think could be the motive, “so that we can
clear our name here and we can have some lead in the
investigation.”
Militant groups and their allies in
human-rights organizations normally accuse military and
police forces whenever activists and journalists get
killed.
The KMP personnel added that Pojas and
another staff member of the FADC office were scheduled
to visit Compostela Valley province on Thursday morning
following reports that the evacuees from Moncayo town,
where there was a recent gun battle, were harassed.
The militant groups have figured in a
word war with the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade after
the Army complained that the militant groups were
behind a rally by residents in New Bataan and some towns
to demand a stop to military operations in the area.
“If there is anybody who should be asked
to leave the area, it should be the NPAs [New People’s
Army guerrillas], not us, because the Constitution
mandates us to run after these rebels and to protect the
people,” said Col. Allan Luga, commander of the brigade. |
