PORAC, Pampanga – A resolution urging the creation of a task force that will look into the slaying of a village councilor here will be filed at the municipal council today.
Councilor Mike Tapang also said he is condemning “in the strongest possible terms” the killing of Barangay Hacienda Dolores Kagawad Menelao “Boy” Barcia last Friday. Tapang said he was tasked by Governor Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda to look into the immediate resolution of the land dispute between the farmers group in Barangay Hacienda Dolores and LLL Holdings, Inc. which is utilizing the land in the said village for urban development.
Tapang declined to give more details but said he is already working on the plan upon the behest and close coordination with the governor. Meanwhile, Central Luzon militant groups held an indignation rally in front of the town hall here yesterday morning condemning the slaying of Barcia.
The militant groups were led by the Aniban ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Hasyenda Dolores (Aniban) that included the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Bayan Muna and Anak Pawis.
The victim was an officer of Aniban which is currently embroiled in a land dispute with LLL Holdings in Barangay Hacienda Dolores here. Barcia, 57, and his wife Maria, 54, were ambushed on their way home at around 9:45 pm last Friday.
Barcia sustained three gunshot wounds to the body and one at the back of his head. Barcia’s wife, who sustained a gunshot wound, survived the ambush and was rushed to a nearby hospital. According to Porac Police Chief Supt. Neil Miro, four unidentified suspects riding in tandem on two motorcycles shot the victims while on their way home in Barangay Manibaug here.
Miro said initial investigation showed that the victims were onboard an owner type jeep with plate number CRL-139 when the suspects shot them. After the incident, the suspects fled while the victims were rushed to the hospital but Barcia was pronounced dead on arrival by an attending physician.
Miro said they are now looking into politics or personal grudge as motives behind the killing. The police also said prior to the incident, a group of armed men allegedly led by a certain Ka Dickson from Arayat, Pampanga were seen roaming the area particularly in Barangay Hacienda Dolores.
Last month, Hacienda Dolores Barangay Captain Antonio Tolentino was arrested and now detained for cases of serious illegal detention, kidnapping and serious physical injuries filed by a security guard of LLL Holdings.
It can be recalled that last January, the Aniban group attacked the security guards of LLL that led to the killing of an individual from their group and the capture of LLL security guard Larry Sabado who was maltreated then tied to a motorcycle and dragged on the road to the house of Tolentino.
