Negros killings
The Negros killings were a series of targeted assassinations carried out by unidentified gunmen in the
Negros Occidental
2018
The massacre occurred in Sagay, Negros Occidental, when a group of gunmen shot and killed nine sugarcane farmers, including four women and two children, while they were eating dinner in a makeshift tent on a farm in Sagay, Negros Occidental, on October 20, 2018.[5] The farmers were members of the National Federation of Sugar Workers,[6] and the massacre may have been motivated by ongoing conflicts over land reform in the Philippines.[7]
2019
On April 22, 2019,
On August 18, 2019, a 24-year-old woman named Cristal Faith Jastiva was shot at close range by two motorcycle assailants as she was waiting for a pedicab along Magsaysay Avenue in Bago.[9]
2020
On June 23, 2020, Jose "Jerry" Catalogo of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) was assassinated by unidentified gunmen in Escalante.[10][11] He was reportedly placed under taxpayer-paid surveillance before his murder.[12] On August 17, Zara Alvarez, a church worker and paralegal, was gunned down in Bacolod.[13]
Negros Oriental
2018
On December 27, 2018, at 7 a.m., three armed men stormed the house of the Isugan family in
2019
On March 30, 2019, police operations conducted simultaneously in three different municipalities within Negros Oriental, leaving 14 people dead and 12 others arrested.[14][15][16][17] Local police and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) who conducted the operations alleged that the suspects opened fire and resisted arrest while being served warrants for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.[15][14] Police and CIDG also alleged that the victims were members of the Special Partisan Unit of the New People's Army (NPA).[14] PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde asserted that the operation was not a massacre and that the people who were killed had "fought back".[18]
Karapatan and farmers' groups Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and National Federation of Sugar Farmers condemned the incident, saying that the victims were merely farmers and habal-habal drivers.[18] As a result, the provincial director of Negros Oriental police and three other police officers were relieved from their post.[19] Human Rights Watch and UMA called for an investigation into the killings.[19] Kabataan Party-list Representative Sarah Elago condemned the killings, holding the Duterte administration accountable for the incident.[20] Elago also added that the incident brought the death toll of farmers to 197 under the Duterte administration.[21]
On April 9, the
On July 18, four police officers were killed in an ambush in Barangay Mabato in Ayungon town.[23] According to the authorities, the police officers said that there was a presence of New People's Army in the area when they were attacked.[23] Another source is that the police officers were allegedly being tortured after they were cornered by the groups.[24] President Rodrigo Duterte has offered a P3-million reward to find the responsible.[24] Duterte also visited the wake of the slain police officers.[25]
On July 24, two men on a motorcycle gunned down and killed lawyer Anthony Trinidad and injured his wife in
On July 26, Fedirico Sabejon of Barangay 3 in Siaton was killed by gunmen on a motorcycle.[29] On July 27, gunmen killed Ernesto Posadas, barangay chair of Panubigan, Canlaon, inside his home. The suspects fled in a white van and green pickup truck after writing "Mabuhay ang NPA" (transl. Long live the NPA) and "Traydor sa NPA" (transl. Traitor to the NPA) in spray painting.[29] On July 27, unidentified gunmen killed four persons inside their homes in separate incidents, including Canlaon City Councilor Ramon Jalandoni, former mayor Edsel Enardecido, his cousin Leo Enardecido, and Ernesto Posadas.[30] On July 28, a man named Anaciancino Rosalita, a resident of Barangay Bucalan in Canlaon, was gunned down in broad daylight, according to Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NORPPO).[31]
On August 15, a grade 11 senior high school student named Joshua Partosa was gunned down and stabbed in the neck by four assailants aboard two motorcycles in broad daylight in Sibulan. Barangay councilor Raul Fat and former barangay councilor Fernando Toreno were gunned down in separate places in neighboring Negros Occidental.[32]
2020
On December 15, 2020, Mary Rose Sancelan and her husband were killed by a gunman on a motorcycle outside a subdivision in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.[33]
Responses and reactions
Philippine National Police Chief
The
Bishops Gerardo Alminaza, Julito Cortes, Patricio Buzon, and Louie Galbines of
Col. Raul Tacaca was relieved from his post as provincial police chief of Negros Oriental following the April 2019 killings. He was reinstated on April 30, 2019, but was relieved again in July 2019 after a series of killings occurred in that month. The Philippine National Police launched an investigation whether there were lapses on Tacaca's part in dealing with the killings.[40]
PNP chief Albayalde said on July 29, 2019, that there will be no declaration of martial law on Negros island despite the situation in Negros Oriental.[41] On August 20, the United Methodist Church said that the deployment of additional troop forces "complicated the already worsening human rights situation" on the island.[42]
See also
References
- ^ Esguerra, Darryl John (November 23, 2018). "Duterte sends more troops in Bicol, Samar, Negros vs 'lawless violence'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ "Duterte orders more soldiers, cops in Bicol, Samar, Negros Island". Rappler. November 23, 2018. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Death comes unprovoked upon Negros Island". Rappler.
- ^ "Farmer with militant group shot dead in Negros Occidental". January 26, 2017.
- ^ "PNP eyes 4 groups in killing of 9 sugar farmers in Sagay". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "PNP claims slain Negros farmers' org is Red legal front". ABS-CBN News.
- ^ "9 killed including two minors in Negros Occidental sugar plantation". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
- ^ "In the killing fields of Negros, the lives of farmers and activists mean nothing". April 26, 2019.
- ^ "Woman gunned down near Bacolod police station". Rappler. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
- ^ Villabroza, Francis (October 27, 2020). "Sagay Massacre, Two Years After". Pinoy Weekly. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023.
- ^ Burgos Jr., Nestor P. (July 28, 2020). "Family of slain Negros Oriental lawyer continues to live in fear one year after his killing". Inquirer. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ "Denounce killing of peasant in Escalante, Negros".
- ^ "Negros-based activist killed in Bacolod – rights group Karapatan". August 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c "14 killed in police operations in Negros Oriental". Rappler.
- ^ a b "14 dead in Negros Oriental police operations". The Philippine Star.
- ^ a b "Dumaguete Diocese seeks impartial probe into 14 farmers' death". SunStar.
- ^ "Palace defends Negros Oriental police ops that left 14 farmers dead". ABS-CBN News.
- ^ a b "PNP: Negros Oriental operations where 14 died 'not a massacre'". The Philippine Star.
- ^ a b "Negros Oriental police officials relieved over ops that killed 14 farmers". The Philippine Star.
- ^ "14 farmers massacred in Negros Oriental, lawmaker says". ABS-CBN News.
- ^ "14 killed in joint military, police operations in Negros Oriental". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
- ^ "Families of 14 farmers killed in Negros Oriental should file charges, says Malacañang". BusinessWorld.
- ^ a b "4 policemen killed in Negros Oriental ambush". Rappler.
- ^ a b "Spate of slays: What is happening in Negros Oriental?". ABS-CBN News.
- ^ "Duterte raises P3-million bounty on killers of Negros Oriental cops". ABS-CBN News.
- ^ a b "Lawyer killed in Negros Oriental ambush". Rappler.
- ^ "Central Visayas police identify 3 motives in killing of Negros Oriental lawyer". Rappler.
- ^ a b "School principal, 2 others killed in Negros Oriental home invasions". Rappler.
- ^ a b "13 killings in 5 days stoke martial law talk in Negros". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- ^ "Councilor, ex-mayor, 3 others killed in Negros Oriental". Rappler.
- ^ "14th victim killed as Negros Oriental bloodbath continues". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- ^ "TIMELINE: Killings in Negros". Rappler. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
- ^ "24 Oras Livestream: December 17, 2020 | Replay (Full Episode)". GMA News. Retrieved December 21, 2020 – via YouTube. Note: Skip at 40:48.
- ^ "300 elite cops coming to Negros after fresh bloodshed". ABS-CBN News.
- ^ Caliwan, Christopher Lloyd (July 29, 2019). "300 SAF troops deployed on Negros Island over killings". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ "Hontiveros, De Lima raise alarm on Negros killings". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ "CPP slams Negros Oriental killings". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- ^ a b "Stop Negros Oriental killings, govt urged". The Manila Times.
- ^ Bayoran, Gilbert; Punay, Edu (July 29, 2019). "Bishops call for end to Negros killings". Philippine Star. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ "Negros Oriental police chief sacked again amid new killings". CNN Philippines. July 31, 2019. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ Ellera, Teresa (July 29, 2019). "PNP chief on Negros killings: 'No martial law'". Sunstar Bacolod. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ "Methodist Church: Militarization has turned Negros into 'howling wilderness'". Rappler.