KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/13 May) – Suspected communist guerillas operating in the hinterlands of North Cotabato executed two farmers in Makilala, North Cotabato at around 7 p.m., Saturday, authorities said.
SPO3 Norberto Calayca, investigator at the Makilala police, identified the victims as brothers Marlon Sulutan, 36, and Randy, 32, both farmers and residents of Purok-Eden, Barangay Cabilao in Makilala town.
Marlon was president of the BarangayDefense System (BDS) of Barangay Cabilao, which the New People’s Army (NPA) had repeatedly said was a tool of the military in its anti-insurgency campaign.
The brothers suffered multiple chest wounds from M14 armalite rifles, Calayco said.
Makilala mayor Rudy Caoagdan ordered a thorough probe on the Sulutan murders. “This was a case of a summary execution done by the NPA,” he said.
Marlon’s wife, Gwen, said some 60 fully-armed men who identified themselves as members of the NPA) arrived at their house at around 7 p.m., on Saturday, looking for her husband.
Marlon was not around. Gwen said she led them to where he was, near the church, drinking with some friends.
When she presented Marlon to the armed men who identified themselves as NPA, they immediately chained him and brought him to the basketball court near the barangay hall, Gwen said.
Another group of armed men brought Randy to the same place, she said.
Barangay Cabilao chair Gideon Bugoy quoted the armed men as saying the brothers committed grave mistakes to the community and to the NPA and that they deserved to die.
“I was shocked, fearful of what’s going to happen. But I knew he was going to die,” Gwen said.
She explained that if she did not bring Marlon to them, they would probably massacre her family – her three children, two nieces, her father and stepmother.
Bugoy said that minutes after the Sulutan brothers were presented to the community, they were brought near the river, just few meters away from the village center, where they were shot.
Bugyo said they heard six gunshots.
He said they retrieved the bodies of the brothers after the armed men left.
At around 8 a.m., on Sunday, the bodies were brought to the Torreda Funeral Homes in Makilala town.
Marn, Marlon’s eldest child, wants justice for his father’s and uncle’s death.
The NPA has not issued a statement on the killing of the Sulatan brothers which came two weeks after it raided a detachment of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) in nearby Magsaysay town in Davao del Sur. Two NPA members were killed. (Malu Cadelina-Manar/MindaNews)