Ex-NPA rebel gunned down in south Palawan

Marine Battalion Landing Team-4 (MBLT-4) commanding officer Lt. Colonel Danilo Facundo identified the slain former rebel as 25-year-old Junjun Lacaran Gaposan, who went by the aliases “Ka Jason” and “Ka Arman.” (Shuttertock)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — A former New People’s Army (NPA) member was shot and killed by two unidentified assailants early Thursday morning in southern Palawan.

Marine Battalion Landing Team-4 (MBLT-4) commanding officer Lt. Colonel Danilo Facundo identified the slain former rebel as 25-year-old Junjun Lacaran Gaposan, who went by the aliases “Ka Jason” and “Ka Arman.”

The former rebel, who is also a resident of the said barangay, was killed around 9:30 a.m. while attending a “tabuan” or market day at Sitio Cabangaan, Barangay Samariniana, Brooke’s Point, located 219.5 kilometers south of this city.

“Confirmed that he was gunned down by two unknown assailants, who fled in a forested area of Cabangaan,” Facundo told the Philippine News Agency.

Investigation is still ongoing.

Captain Wanel Ansa, environment unit and civil military officer of MBLT-4, said the victim suffered gunshot wounds in the head and different parts of the body.

“It looks like he was shot at close range,” he said. Six empty shells were found at the crime scene. Gaposan’s body has been brought to a morgue in Brooke’s Point.