Children of slain rebel returnee to undergo trauma counseling

PRESIDENT ROXAS, North Cotabato – Two innocent children here who witnessed the brutal slay of their father will undergo counseling and other support services purposely to slowly cope with the trauma. President Roxas Mayor Jaime Mahimpit said he already tasked his social welfare staff to conduct psycho-social interventions among the children of Larry Embac, former commander of the New Peoples’ Army (NPA) who was killed on Saturday at Barangay Labu-o by gunmen who identified themselves as members of Front 53 Cotabato-Bukidnon NPA Operational Command. Mahimpit said that Embac’s children, aged 13 and 10, witnessed the alleged ‘barbaric’ killing. The children were with their mother Dadang, who, along with other residents of Barangay Labu-o, were stunned to see how Embac was shot many times in different parts of his body. Embac, based on autopsy results, sustained 17 gunshot wounds from armalite rifles. Ang mga armado daw ang tan-aw nila sa ila target nga patyon pares sa manok(The gunmen looked at their target as if he was just like a chicken,)”, said Mahimpit. The children, reports said, have stopped attending classes for fear the armed men might return and finish them all. The shock or trauma, according to Mahimpit, cannot be erased ‘in a click of second’. They have to undergo psycho-social interventions and other support services. We have to wipe away their fears,” he stressed. This as businessmen and other individuals expressed their security concerns especially so that some of them witnessed armed men sow terror in the community. Kung mag-permanente ang maong panghitabo dili gyud maglambo ang amo banwa(If incident like this continues our town will never develop),” the mayor said.