This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 44, Dec. 13, 2006
Village Chief Gunned Down in
Bulacan
A barangay
(village) captain was gunned down by hooded and motorcycle-riding men in
Malolos City, Bulacan at around 6:30 p.m. last night.
Based on reports
reaching Bulatlat, Renato Estrella, 58, barangay captain of Atlag,
Malolos City, was shot in the head at close range by one of the assailants in
Sitio Buhangin. The assailants immediately fled from the scene.
Estrella was
rushed to the Santos General Hospital in Malolos City, but was pronounced dead
on arrival.
The
killing of Estrella brought to 113 the number of those killed by alleged death
squads in Central Luzon since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was catapulted
to power through a popular uprising in 2001. Of these, 71 were perpetrated
during the stint of retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jr. as commanding officer
of the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division which is based in Ft.
Ramon Magsaysay, Laur, Nueva Ecija.
Central Luzon is one of three regions named as “priority areas” in the
govewrnment’s counter-“insurgency” drive. The others are Southern Tagalog and
the Bicol Region.
In
the last two days alone, four people – among them two labor leaders and a human
rights lawyer – were killed in Southern Tagalog and the Bicol Region.
Initial reports from local police state that Estrella could have been the victim
of a New People’s Army (NPA) “hit squad.” But Roman Polintan, chairman of Bagong
Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance)-Central Luzon, said in a
statement sent to Bulatlat that Estrella had received several threats
from the military because of his opposition to the deployment of government
troops to his area. Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
Posted
2:50 p.m., Dec. 13, 2006