KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 23 Aug) – Unidentified gunmen shot dead a couple who were former members of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA) in Makilala, North Cotabato Wednesday evening, police said.
Chief Insp. Johnny Rick Medel, chief of the Makilala police, identified the slain couple as Felix Mancao Abaniel, 52, and his wife, Teresita, 51, both residents of Barangay Sinkatulan, Makilala.
Medel hinted the suspects were communist guerillas tasked to execute the couple after they learned they were already sharing to the military vital information about the movement.
The Abaniels were among NPA rebels who yielded to the Army in North Cotabato earlier this year.
Medel said the victims were already deep in their sleep when the gunmen forcibly entered their house at Barangay Sinkatulan around 10:30 p.m. and fired shots towards them.
After making sure their targets were dead, the suspects immediately fled the area and exited towards the west portion of the barangay, reports added.
The suspects reportedly spared the couple’s children and other members of the family.
Authorities recovered from the Abaniels’ house a few slugs from a caliber .45 pistol, which was used to silence the victims.
Barangay Sinkatulan is considered a “red” area or highly-influenced by the NPA, based on military intelligence reports. (Malu Cadelina Manar / MindaNews)
