Desperate NPA bandits steal
man's food
 FRANCISCO
BALOIS aka TONYING, CENTRAL FRONT, KR-PANAY OF THE CPP-NPA. WANTED FOR
MURDER / FRUSTRATED MURDER / MULTIPLE MURDER WITH THE USE OF EXPLOSIVES
/ REBELLION / INSURRECTION AND NOW THEFT OF POULTRY.
Division Public Affairs Office, Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz - An
irate resident from Bingawan town in Iloilo filed a complaint against
the bandit group of Francisco Balois, a self-styled leader of the New
People's Army in Central Panay for taking them hostage in their own home
under threat of death and finishing off their monthly food supply. The
complainant, Joseph Dayot Gonzales, 25 years old and a resident of Sitio
Manghanop, Brgy Poblacion, Bingawan, Iloilo went to the office of
Bingawan Municipal Mayor Matt Palabrica to ask for assistance seeing
that he has barely enough food left to last them the rest of the month.
In his complaint, Gonzales stated that around 7:00 in the evening of
August 10 a group of ten men and five women carrying firearms visited
his house and demanded entry into his home. Fearing for his safety, he
obliged by letting them inside. At this point, the leader of the group
identified himself as Tonying, a well-known alias of Francisco Balois
who is a wanted criminal and a mass-murderer. Tonying angrily demanded
food from Gonzales to which the latter refused since he has nothing to
offer them. The group persisted and they Gonzales's home eventually
finding rice and chickens outside his house. The group then took turns
beating Gonzales while uttering the words "Butigon ka!" (translated from
the local dialect: "You liar!") and at gunpoint forced Gonzales to
prepare them a meal using his own food. During their meal, a frightened
Gonzales was told by Tonying to deliver this message to the Mayor of
Bingawan: "Ang P15,000.00 nga dugay na namun gina pangayo asta subong
wala pa niya guihapun gina hatag." (translated from the local dialect:
"until now he has not given us the money we asked for in the amount of
P15,000.00." One of the armed men then took a fancy to Gonzales's bolo
and took it for himself saying "daw nami dyang binangun mo pang gahit
haw, amun dulang dya." (translated from local dialect: "That's a nice
and sharp jungle bolo, It is now ours.")
The ordeal lasted for two hours and at around 9:00 in the evening
Gonzales was ordered by the armed men to put on shoes and run away from
his house never to come back. Fearing for his life, he did as he was
told and ran all the way to Barangay Alabidhan to the house of his
fiancée. The following morning he went to the Mayor's office and the
Philippine National Police station to report the incident.
According to 3ID spokesman 1LT Mark Andrew T Posadas: "Gonzales is more
outraged than fearful of what the NPA has put him through. Not only did
they humiliate him and physically harm him, but they stole his food
supply. In these desperate times when food is such a valuable commodity,
why would the NPA choose to deprive the have-nots like Joseph Gonzales
Desperate times call for desperate measures and surely this explains the
most recent actions of Tonying's bandit group. With no support from
either their higher organ or the masses to keep their bellies filled,
they have to steal in order for them to survive. It is difficult for
them to accept that they have been utterly abandoned by their leadership
who are constantly bickering over resources and most importantly by the
so-called sympathetic masses from whom they derive their food from.
Thus, it is no surprise that incidents like this do occur and are
reported by our citizens who have had enough of the NPA's abuse."
"Their message to Mayor Palabrica in Bingawan indicates that their
extortion demands are not being met. This is also the case with several
extortion letters surrendered by local businessmen in Panay and Negros.
Our records indicate that the recent increased incidence of extortion
letters being passed around is a result of a diversification of
potential targets for extortion which was due in part to businesses and
politicians not giving into the NPA's extortion demands," Posadas
clarified.
3ID Chief Major General Vicente M Porto lamented: "Are all of them that
savage that they take advantage of poor hard-working folk? Are they that
hungry and desperate for food that they commit to stealing from people
who have nothing to give?"
"We congratulate Joseph Gonzales for coming forward to report this
incident and we pray that more people like him would come out and tell
their story of how the NPA abused them and destroyed their lives. It is
important that the public know the truth about the NPA; that they are
nothing more than murderers, thieves, and outlaws. Gonzales's story is
just the beginning of a renewed public outcry against the abuses of the
NPA in Region 6," Porto added.
"Tonying's group has become so desperate for survival that they resort
to taking from the poor to give to themselves. They are scattered in
small groups which we refer to now as pockets of resistance in localized
areas all over Panay island; notably in areas of Central and Southern
Panay. The masses are turning on them en masse which is an indication
that they are not welcome anymore in communities where they once wielded
much influence," adds Brigadier General Gerardo T Layug of the 303rd
Infantry Brigade based in Dingle, Iloilo.
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