A Special Investigation Task Force was created by the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) to focus on the probe in the killing of Lucresia Tasic, a barangay councilor in Balilihan town.
Tasic was gunned down inside her home by two unidentified men in Barangay Hanopol Norte, Balilihan on Tuesday morning.
BPPO director Col. Joselito Clarito on Wednesday said it is standard procedure for the police to create an SITG to look into the murder of a government official.
“Kahapon mismo nagcreate ako kaagad ng SITG, automatic yan kapag ang involved victim a government official. Ito ay composed of officers and investigators from the provincial headquarters and the CIDG para tulungan yung local police,” Clarito said.
Clarito’s directive to form the SITG also came after Governor Art Yap ordered the BPPO to conduct a “deep probe” into Tasic’s murder.
Yap issued a statement on the incident after the Balilihan police indicated that Tasic’s assailants claimed to be Capitol employees who were conducting free circumcision in the area.
The governor denied that the Capitol had a hand in the village councilor’s murder.
“Ang naunang gikataho nga ang mga mamumuno mga trabahante sa Kapitolyo, dili gayud insakto tungod kay mao pay pagsugod sa atong kapulisan sa ilang imbestigasyon,” Yap said.
According to Clarito, they will also look into why the suspects claimed to be Capitol workers.
“Actually, yun ang kailangan naming imbestigahan at sana nga matukoy natin at ma-identify natin kung sino-sino itong mga perpetrators,” Clarito said.
Tasic is the first government official to be killed this year.
Red-tagging
Initial investigation of the Balilihan police also indicated that she was a member of progressive group Anakpawis.
Meanwhile, the Hugpong sa Mag-uumang Bol-anon- Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Humabol- KMP) has aired the statement of peasant groups condemning Tasic’s murder.
“Sama-samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo condemns the murder of Lucresia Tasic—the 316th peasant victim of political killings since Duterte came to power—the morning of February 16, 2021,” the statement said.
It was noted that Tasic was an active campaigner of Anakpawis.
SAKA spokesperson Angelo Suarez said Tasic’s murder was “undeniably political.”
“National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon is on a rampage, targetting the people’s representatives in parliament as well as their emancipatory agenda,” Suarez said.
“When he and the rest of his anti-communist task force are not abducting or murdering Anakpawis members, they publicly malign members of the Makabayan coalition to remove all obstacles to the interests of their big landlord and comprador bosses,” he added. (A. Doydora)