News Update NPA owns up to Samar town ex-mayor’s killing

The communist-led New People's Army (NPA) claimed responsibility Wednesday for the killing of a former Eastern Samar town mayor, saying they meted him the death penalty for his alleged corruption and drug activities.

NPA Efren Martires Command spokesman Karlos Manuel said former Giporlos town mayor Mateo Biong Jr. was "punished" last July 13 in Coticot village in Giporlos.

"Biong was a big drug lord. He was one of those responsible for the recent spread of illegal drugs in Eastern Samar on such a massive scale that it had caught media attention since last year. He had at least eight goons who handled the delivery of 'shabu' ... throughout the province. The exchange of cash and drugs was done at sea, as described in media reports on the illegal drugs trade in the province," the Communist Party of the Philippines website quoted the NPA local spokesman as saying.

Earlier reports had said unidentified gunmen shot dead the former mayor before fleeing on foot.

Manuel also claimed that Biong was the mastermind behind various killings in Eastern Samar, such as those of Ronnie Barsana, Remigio Quiminales, and a former Army soldier.

He said those killed "were either aware of Biong's illegal activities or were his rivals in crime."

Manuel also accused Biong of plundering public funds as Giporlos mayor from 2004 to 2010, allegedly taking at least P50 million earmarked for five bridge projects, and implementing only half of a P36-million water system project while pocketing the rest of the funds.

The local rebel spokesman also dismissed the claim by the Commission on Human Rights that Biong's punishment was an extrajudicial killing, insisting instead that the so-called "people's court observed due process (in handling his case)… in accordance with the revolutionary justice system."

He added that Biong's punishment rendered justice to his victims and the people, and serves as a warning to other crime lords and corrupt politicians. —JV