The Negros killings were a series of targeted assassinations carried out by unidentified gunmen in the
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
of
Negros Oriental
Negros Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Negros; tl, Silangang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete. It occupies the southeaste ...
and
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. Some of the victims involved were suspected Communists or
sympathizers. Following the killings, Memorandum Order No. 32 was signed by Executive Secretary
Salvador Medialdea
Salvador "Bingbong" Campo Medialdea (born October 14, 1951) is a Filipino lawyer, business executive and government administrator who served as the Executive Secretary of the Philippines, succeeding Paquito Ochoa Jr. at the start of President ...
on November 23, 2018, upon the orders of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...
deploying additional troops to the provinces of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental,
Samar
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
, and the
Bicol Region
Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...
to "suppress sporadic acts of violence" allegedly committed by lawless groups and to "prevent such violence from spreading and escalating elsewhere in the country." Even after the memorandum was signed, the incidence of killings continued.
[ According to the Defend Negros Movement, the first recorded ]extrajudicial killing
An extrajudicial killing (also known as extrajudicial execution or extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whether ...
on Negros Island was Alexander Ceballos on January 20, 2017. The group also alleged that at least 84 persons have been killed since 2017.[
]
Negros Occidental
2018
The massacre occurred in Sagay, Negros Occidental
Sagay, officially the City of Sagay ( hil, Dakbanwa sang Sagay; ceb, Dakbayan sa Sagay; fil, Lungsod ng Sagay), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population ...
, 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
Sagay, officially the City of Sagay ( hil, Dakbanwa sang Sagay; ceb, Dakbayan sa Sagay; fil, Lungsod ng Sagay), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population ...
, on October 20, 2018. The farmers were members of the National Federation of Sugar Workers, and the massacre may have been motivated by ongoing conflicts over land reform in the Philippines
Land reform in the Philippines has long been a contentious issue rooted in the Philippines's History of the Philippines (1521–1898), Spanish Colonial Period. Some efforts began during the American Colonial Period with renewed efforts during the ...
.
2019
On April 22, 2019, Escalante
Escalante may refer to:
People
*Amat Escalante (born 1979), Mexican filmmaker
*Bernardino de Escalante (born 1537), 16th-century Spanish writer, author of one of the first European books on China
*Enrique Escalante (born 1984), Puerto Rican volley ...
councilor and Escalante Massacre
The Escalante massacre was an incident on September 20, 1985, in Escalante, Negros Occidental, Philippines, where government paramilitary forces gunned down civilians engaged in a rally in commemoration of the 13th anniversary of the declaration ...
survivor Bernardino "Toto" Patigas was brazenly murdered by a motorcycle gunman hiding neither behind mask nor helmet. The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) pins the blame squarely and unambiguously on the "entrenched oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
" of the island.
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
The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of hatchback tricycle designed to carry passengers on a for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bikecab, ...
along Magsaysay Avenue in Bago
Bago may refer to:
Places Myanmar
* Bago, Myanmar, a city and the capital of the Bago Region
* Bago District, a district of the Bago Region
* Bago Region an administrative region
* Bago River, a river
* Bago Yoma or Pegu Range, a mountain rang ...
.
2020
On June 23, 2020, Jose "Jerry" Catalogo of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) was assassinated by unidentified gunmen in Escalante
Escalante may refer to:
People
*Amat Escalante (born 1979), Mexican filmmaker
*Bernardino de Escalante (born 1537), 16th-century Spanish writer, author of one of the first European books on China
*Enrique Escalante (born 1984), Puerto Rican volley ...
.[https://www.pinoyweekly.org/2020/10/two-years-after-sagay-massacre/ ] He was reportedly placed under taxpayer-paid surveillance before his murder. On August 17, Zara Alvarez
Zara Alvarez (25 March 1981 – 17 August 2020) was a Filipina human rights advocate, educator, paralegal, and prominent social activist who predominantly campaigned against human rights violations during the administration of Rodrigo Duterte. S ...
, a church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
worker and paralegal
A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, or paralegal specialist is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with a license to practice law. The market for paralegals i ...
, was gunned down in Bacolod
Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...
.
Negros Oriental
2018
On December 27, 2018, at 7 a.m., three armed men stormed the house of the Isugan family in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental
Guihulngan, officially the City of Guihulngan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Guihulngan; fil, Lungsod ng Guihulngan), is a 5th class component city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 102,656 ...
, and killed one of the family members. A few weeks later, their house was burned down by the assailants.[ One of the family members believed that the motive for the killing is the "family’s involvement in the peasant organization."][
]
2019
On March 30, 2019, police operations conducted simultaneously in three different municipalities within Negros Oriental
Negros Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Negros; tl, Silangang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete. It occupies the southeaste ...
, leaving 14 people dead and 12 others arrested.[ 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.] Police and CIDG also alleged that the victims were members of the Special Partisan Unit of the New People's Army (NPA). PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde
Oscar David Albayalde (; born November 8, 1963) is a retired Filipino police officer who served as the Chief of the Philippine National Police from April 2018 until his optional retirement in October 2019.
Early life and education
Albayalde w ...
asserted that the operation was not a massacre and that the people who were killed had "fought back".
Karapatan
Karapatan Alliance Philippines (commonly shortened to Karapatan, which translates to ''rights'' in Filipino) is a left-wing non-governmental organization and human rights alliance that conducts research and advocacy of human rights campaigns as ...
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.[ As a result, the provincial director of Negros Oriental police and three other police officers were relieved from their post.] Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
and UMA called for an investigation into the killings.[ Kabataan Party-list Representative ]Sarah Elago
Sarah Jane Ibañez Elago (born October 18, 1989) is a Filipino activist and politician. She was a member of the Philippine House of Representatives for its 17th and 18th Congress, both times representing the youth sector under Kabataan Party- ...
condemned the killings, holding the Duterte administration accountable for the incident. Elago also added that the incident brought the death toll of farmers to 197 under the Duterte administration.
On April 9, the Diocese of Dumaguete
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dumaguete (Latin: ''Dioecesis Dumaguetensis''; Filipino: ''Diyosesis ng Dumaguete''; Cebuano: ''Diyosesis sa Dumaguete;'' Spanish: ''Diócesis de Dumaguete'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic ...
called for the "impartial investigation into the deaths of these 14 men." Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo
Salvador "Sal" San Buenaventura Panelo (born September 23, 1946) is a Filipino lawyer who served as President Rodrigo Duterte's Chief Presidential Legal Counsel (2016–2021) and Presidential Spokesperson (2018–2020). He was also the legal a ...
said that the families of the slain people "should file charges."
On July 18, four police officers were killed in an ambush in Barangay Mabato in Ayungon town. According to the authorities, the police officers said that there was a presence of New People's Army
The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...
in the area when they were attacked. Another source is that the police officers were allegedly being tortured after they were cornered by the groups. President Rodrigo Duterte has offered a P3-million reward to find the responsible. Duterte also visited the wake of the slain police officers.
On July 24, two men on a motorcycle gunned down and killed lawyer Anthony Trinidad and injured his wife in Guihulngan
Guihulngan, officially the City of Guihulngan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Guihulngan; fil, Lungsod ng Guihulngan), is a 5th class component city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 102,656 ...
, Negros Oriental. Opposition Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Leila de Lima
Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa Magistrado de Lima (born August 27, 1959) is a Filipina politician, lawyer, human rights activist and law professor who previously served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She was the chairperson of ...
has called for justice for Trinidad, who, "she said, represented 'political prisoners in Negros' and 'was reportedly among the names on a hit list by an alleged anti-communist group.'" The Defend Negros Network said in a statement through a Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
account that Trinidad is allegedly "among the names on a list of an alleged anti-communist group called Kawsa Guihulnganon Batok Komunista (KAGUBAK)." On July 25, 2019, in Guihulngan
Guihulngan, officially the City of Guihulngan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Guihulngan; fil, Lungsod ng Guihulngan), is a 5th class component city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 102,656 ...
, Guihulngan Science High School principal Arthur Bayawa and his sister Ardale Bayawa were killed inside their homes by unknown gunmen. The Bayawa siblings were killed inside their home by at least 10 assailants. Forty minutes later, at 1:40 a.m. (PHT), Barangay Chairman Romeo Alipan was also killed by at least 20 unidentified gunmen in his home. Guihulngan City Police Station Lieutenant Colonel Bonifacio Tecson said that motive of killing Alipan could be his joining the anti-insurgency campaign of the government.
On July 26, Fedirico Sabejon of Barangay 3 in Siaton was killed by gunmen on a motorcycle.[ 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" () and "Traydor sa NPA" () in spray painting.] 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. 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).
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
Sibulan, officially the Municipality of Sibulan ( ceb, Lungsod sa Sibulan; tl, Bayan ng Sibulan), is a second class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to ...
. Barangay councilor Raul Fat and former barangay councilor Fernando Toreno were gunned down in separate places in neighboring Negros Occidental.
2020
On December 15, 2020, Mary Rose Sancelan and her husband were killed by a gunman on a motorcycle outside a subdivision
Subdivision may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Subdivision (metre), in music
* ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009
* "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2)
* ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005
* "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...
in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.
Responses and reactions
Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde
Oscar David Albayalde (; born November 8, 1963) is a retired Filipino police officer who served as the Chief of the Philippine National Police from April 2018 until his optional retirement in October 2019.
Early life and education
Albayalde w ...
said that he ordered the deployment of 300 Special Action Force
The Special Action Force (SAF) is the elite unit of the Philippine National Police founded by Fidel V. Ramos, later the twelfth president of the Philippines.
History
Formed on May 12, 1983, by the now-defunct Philippine Constabulary (PC) as th ...
(SAF) commandos to Negros Island
Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...
following the series of killings. Albayalde has also raised the possibility that the CPP and its armed wing the New People's Army
The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...
, which blames the government for the killings, were responsible for the deaths as part of the group's propaganda. Senators Leila de Lima
Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa Magistrado de Lima (born August 27, 1959) is a Filipina politician, lawyer, human rights activist and law professor who previously served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She was the chairperson of ...
and Risa Hontiveros
Ana Theresia Navarro Hontiveros-Baraquel (; born February 24, 1966) is a Filipino politician, community leader, and journalist who has been serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2016. She previously served as a party-list representa ...
expressed concern over the killings in the province.
The Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines ( fil, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a far-left, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is desi ...
(CPP) condemned the incident and accused the military, police, and paramilitary forces of orchestrating the attacks. The Commission on Human Rights
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
(CHR) called for the government to stop the killings and urged the government to investigate the incident. Human rights group Karapatan said that the incident "might be attributed to the implementation of the Oplan Kapanatagan, Memorandum 32 and Oplan Sauron in the province."[
Bishops Gerardo Alminaza, Julito Cortes, Patricio Buzon, and Louie Galbines of San Carlos, ]Dumaguete
Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dumaguete; fil, Lungsod ng Dumaguete), is a 3rd income class component city and the capital of the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a p ...
, Bacolod
Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...
, and Kabankalan
Kabankalan, officially the City of Kabankalan ( hil, Dakbanwa sang Kabankalan; ceb, Dakbayan sa Kabankalan; fil, Lungsod ng Kabankalan), is a 1st class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...
respectively denounced the killings.
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.
PNP chief Albayalde said on July 29, 2019, that there will be no declaration of martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
on Negros island despite the situation in Negros Oriental. 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.
See also
*Escalante massacre
The Escalante massacre was an incident on September 20, 1985, in Escalante, Negros Occidental, Philippines, where government paramilitary forces gunned down civilians engaged in a rally in commemoration of the 13th anniversary of the declaration ...
References
{{Rodrigo Duterte
Extrajudicial killings
Anti-communist terrorism
Anti-communism in the Philippines
Mass murder in the Philippines
2017 murders in the Philippines
2018 murders in the Philippines
2019 murders in the Philippines
2020 murders in the Philippines
History of Negros Occidental
History of Negros Oriental
Mass murder in 2017
Mass murder in 2018
Mass murder in 2019
Mass murder in 2020