Vengeance Is Mine

CHAPTER 5

Chapter 5

Celedonio Cabral, aka Commander Pusa was born in Caba, La Union sometime in 1984. His father, Prudencio Cabral, was a prominent politician of Caba, while his mother was a school 

teacher in a prominent private school of Caba.. He studied at Saint Louis University, Baguio where he took up Electronic Communication Engineering. He finished his degree in 2008. In 2010, his father ran as mayor during the local and presidential elections. His opponent, Nemesio Juan, however, was strongly supported by the incumbent governor of La Union, Governor Jose Addiong. Despite the strong backing of Addiong of Juan, Prudencio Cabral had the upper hand because he enjoyed the support of the people of Caba. They loved Cabral because of his many charitable works that benefited the populace.  His probability of winning the mayoralty post was high. People often called him "mayor" even though the election was still a few days away. 

But luck was not on Prudencio Cabral's side. On the eve of the election one of the two men on a motorcycle hurled a very powerful grenade in their residence killing him, his wife and Cabral's mother-in-law. Luckily, Celedonio was not in their home that time. He was on his way home from Manila, where he was working as telecommunication engineer. Cabral's supporters theorized that the killing was orchestrated by his political opponent. No hard evidence, however, could link Nemesio Juan to the killing. With Prudencio Cabral out of his way, Nemesio Juan won in the election. 

It was during that darkest period of Celedonio's life that Commander Danny recruited him to join "the cause" as the commander called. Commander Danny was accompanied by a young man whom Commander Danny introduced as Dodong. That was three days after the interment of his parents.

The man identified as Dodong told him that they have the same fate: both of them lost their parents in a horrifying manner.

"Both of us have an ax to grind," Dodong told him.

"Join us son, and I promise you, you will get justice for your murdered parents," Commandeer Danny assured him.

The idea of avenging his parents' death was a most welcome proposition. Yes, he wanted justice for his parents, and the people- or the man behind the killing of his parents must die like pigs! Hence, without much prodding, Celedonio Cabral joined "the cause".

So Celedonio went underground. His sudden disappearance became an enigma to his relatives and other people close to him. His close friends tried to locate him using the social media, but of no avail. Some thought that he must have returned to Manila and stayed there for good. Others surmised that he went away somewhere else to forget the tragedy that befall on his parents. "Poor boy!" was all that they could say.

What they did not know was that after selling their property in Caba, La Union, Celedonio joined the New People's Army under the command of Commander Danny. 

Exactly two months after Celedonio Cabral joined the NPA, newly elected mayor Nemesio Juan was assassinated by 4 armed men (actually, they were NPA's sent by Commander Danny to liquidate the mayor, and one of them was Celedonio himself) while he was on his way home from the Municipal Hall of Caba. His car was riddled with bullets while his body suffered multiple gunshots. His head was blown up splattering his brain on his car's seat. It was quite obvious that Juan himself drove his car, although he had a driver at his disposal. It was a gory killing. As usual, the police blamed the NPA for the "dastardly act" as they claimed to be. Then Caba Police Chief Rodrigo Asto promised to catch the killers. But he never did. Celedonio Cabral had his revenge. 

 After the killing of Mayor Juan, Celedonio started his training as NPA fighter. He learned the art of weaponry and demolition. The latter, demolition using powerful bombs, surprisingly, was his favorite. Commander White Rose, a bomb expert, taught him the intricacy of creating demolition bombs. Celedonio was very religious in his rigorous training. Commander Danny was pleased to see Celedonio's perseverance in his training. Commander Danny himself, taught Celedonio everything he knew about infiltration and urban and rural warfare. He impressed the old commander of his docility. He learned fast and in two years time, he was ready to undertake his first mission, the bombing of Camp Gamu in Isabela. The bombing killed 30 military personnel and wounding 16 others. It was indeed a well executed attack. That's how he earned the title Commander Pusa. Later on, he spearheaded the assassination of a certain Board Member Matias Tumacder, a corrupt politician from San Juan La Union. The assassination was well-planned by Celedonio himself, now called Commander Pusa.  

Commander Pusa's reverie was cut by the ringing of his cellphone. It was Commander Dodong calling him. What could be the purpose of this call?  He thought.

"Hello, Commander Dodong, what can I do for you?" he asked.  

"Commander Pusa, report to my headquarters as fast as you can. We have something to discuss. This is of prime importance," it was an order rather than a request from the Supreme Commander.

Commander Pusa replied snappily, " Copy that, Commander. I'll be there in no time at all."

Commander Pusa was the most loyal field commander of Commander Dodong for Commander Danny's sake. To Commander Pusa, the late Supreme Commander was the messiah of the NPA. He owed much to his Supreme Commander Danny, and he was more than willing to give up his life for him. He would do the same to Commander Dodong. He knew pretty well about Commander Dodong's tragic past. And he also knew his Supreme Commander's burning desire to avenge for the horrible murder of his family. He learned all these facts from his mentor, Commander Danny. Which was why, he swore by his old mentor's grave to look after Commander Dodong, to follow him even to the point of death!

And now, it's time for him to respond to the ultimate call of his Supreme Commander. He must act promptly-now.