January 02, 2007 08:08 PM Tuesday  	 Article read 824 time(s)
Death stalks Bayan Muna
By: Alfred Dalizon
Party-list fears elimination as another leader is gunned down

A LONE gunman shot to death a ranking leader of the militant group Bayan Muna in Ligao City, Albay on New Year’s Eve before fleeing on a motorcycle, police said yesterday.
   
Bayan Muna quickly blamed the killing on the administration, accusing it of trying to prevent the party-list group from joining the election this year.
   
Police Regional Office 5 director Chief Supt. Ricardo Padilla said Rodolfo Alvarado Jr., 53, a Bayan Muna provincial officer in Albay, sustained gunshot wounds in the arms and body and died while being taken to a local hospital. Alvarado was the last militant to be killed before the end of the year.
   
Padilla said the victim was driving his Toyota Corolla when attacked in Barangay Sta. Cruz, Ligao City at 4:55 p.m. Sunday.
   
The assassin, who was armed with a caliber .45 pistol, was later picked up by two motorcycle-riding men, witnesses said.
   
Padilla said scene-of-the-crime investigators recovered inside the victim’s car eight .45 empty cartridges, a deformed slug and a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a magazine loaded with nine bullets and a shell still inserted in its barrel.
   
He said they were still investigating if the victim managed to fire back at his attacker.
   
“We’re still investigating the motive and identities of the suspects,” Padilla said, adding that he has formed a task force that will spearhead the hunt for the assassins.
  
 The Philippine National Police Task Force Usig headed by Deputy Director General Avelino I. Razon Jr. has joined the investigation into the case.
   
Razon said they have recorded a total of 115 cases of slain party-list/militant members since 2001 with 47 of the cases already filed in court and the remainder still being investigated.
   
The most number of party-list members slain since 2001 were recorded in 2006 and the lowest in 2003, Razon said. He said that since Task Force Usig was created on May 13, 2006, they have investigated a total of 25 incidents involving slain party-list/militant members.

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2007-01-02&sec=1&aid=0