City councilor killed in ambush in Guihulngan

CEBU CITY—Eight months after he survived an ambush, Councilor Edison dela Rita of Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental was again attacked by still unidentified gunmen on Monday.
But this time, he was not so lucky.

Dela Rita died of gunshot wounds after he was repeatedly shot by still unidentified assailants while riding on his motorcycle in Barangay Poblacion, Guihulngan, about 7 a.m.

Chief Supt. Robert Quenery, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), told reporters in a news conference in Cebu City on Monday that he had ordered a hot pursuit operation against the perpetrators.

He said he suspected that the New People’s Army was responsible for the attack on Dela Rita considering that the communist rebels made an attempt on his life last year.

Dela Rita survived an ambush staged by NPA rebels on July 21, 2017 but left six policemen and his bodyguard dead.

Killed were Supt. Arnel Apron, Guihulngan police chief, and his five men who went Barangay Magsaysay, Guihulngan to rescue the councilor woasked for help.

Dela Rita and his driver were wounded during the July 2017 ambush. At that time, the councilor was riding his motorcycle on his way to his farm.

JB Regalado, spokesperson for the NPA’s Leonardo Panaligan Command, released a statement two weeks after and owned up the ambush, saying it stemmed from the people’s demand for justice on supposed abuses committed by the police and Dela Rita.

The Guihulngan ambush prompted President Duterte to scrap the peace talk with the communist rebels whom he tagged as terrorists.