REBEL HIT-SQUAD
Intel report says 'student assassins' on the job vs 3 targets

By Florence F. Hibionada and Maricar Calubiran

An alert has now been sounded off throughout the intelligence community on the alleged presence of terrorist hit-squads in Iloilo City.  The “initial” targets? Three known personalities who were chosen following a reported deal hatched between the top hierarchy of the local communist party in Panay and a group who shelled out a hefty amount for the hit-job.  The assassins?  A group of students who were tasked for this liquidation as part of the “on-the-job” training .  Reports said among those being put under surveillance is a female college student enrolled in one university here.  Her cohorts, two or three other male teeners who were believed to have been ‘imported' from Mindanao.  

Verification is now underway with Mayor Jerry Treñas saying he has heard of the report.  Same information now being worked on by Supt. Norlito Bautista, Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) Director while allaying fears of the public.

Over the weekend, a ‘flash alarm' was acted by city cops following a sighting of armed men on board a white vehicle. 

Bautista, however, said yesterday the seven armed men belong to an intelligence unit operating in Western Visayas. He refused to identify the name of the unit.

Bautista said the intelligence operatives were set to conduct operations in the province of Capiz when they made a stop at the gasoline station. They gassed up the KIA Pride car they were riding and also requested the gasoline boy to fill their car tires with air including the spare tire at the back compartment of the vehicle.

The gasoline boy then saw the three M16 armalite rifles in the compartment. He did not immediately report his discovery to the police authorities. Few hours later, the gasoline boy and his manager went to the police precinct 1 and reported the car. The gasoline boy was able to get the car's plate number which made it easier for the city cops to trace the car's occupants.

After receiving such information, the Iloilo City Police Office and other attached units conducted a checkpoint in the different exit and entrance areas in the city. The intelligence operatives have already left the city when the checkpoints were set-up.

To note, former Army Civil Relations Chief, Col. Oscar Lasangue has since disclosed of a quarterly terrorist operation mandated on neophyte Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) members.   The city-based perpetretors, The News Today learned from intelligence sources are indeed enrolled as regular students in the city alongside the paid hacks as associates.

In a phone interview Friday, Col. Lasangue confirmed to The News Today the quarterly operation as sanctioned by the central CPP group.  As such, the latest batch of hitmen and hitwomen are tasked to conduct attoricity that will form part of the period's "accomplishment."

The targets, Col. Lasangue said, are decided upon locally with mobilization coming from the proceeds of the extortion activities conducted both in urban and rural areas.  The basis of target-selection, he continued, are also based on the targets' role in making the CPP's "life" hard in spreading the communist propaganda.  But they are also up for the economic side of it.

"It's practically a dead ideology and they are now doing it also for business," he added while saying that the new recruits are easily chosen and brainwashed for the paid hit- jobs.  "I was told of the latest operation in Iloilo City and like the solid leads we then had that confirmed of the quarterly accomplishment report, I call on the public to cooperate anew.  This must be acted upon.  It should not be taken for granted." 

Col. Lasangue further said extensive check must be made on new arrivals in universities and the barangay level.  The liquidation, he disclosed, will most likely be implemented by  the new faces.

"The locals of course have long been burned-out in the intelligence community so like what they did during my stint there, they got hitmen from Mindoro, Negros and Bohol and worked on getting me assasinated in the past five years.  I am fortunate to have survived that.  We also got confirmation then of the planned hit on Army General Jeffrey Sodusta, a number of our intelligence operatives in the Army and Supt. Policarpio Segubre when he was the police chief in the city," Col. Lasangue continued.

The student hitmen did not come as a surprise to Lasangue who said, "this is already the result of the recruitment efforts of the communist party's legal fronts.  The students like the peasant groups are the best choice since they are also most active and dynamic in mass actions."     

"Again, I make this appeal to the people, let us put a stop to the force and intimidation of this terrorist group.  Let peace and order prevail in the region by cooperating with the authorities.  They are still capable of sowing fear and conducting terroristic activity though not in a big-scale," he ended.

Lasangue now serves as Group Commander of the 4th Army Civil Relations Group (CRG) with area of operations in the Zamboanga peninsula, Basilan, Jolo and Central Mindanao.